to 


(Hill 
Ml 


USJ 


'HE  AMEEICAN  FLAG  IN  lEXICO, 


H. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE   RAISING 


THE  FIPiST  AMERICAN  FLAG 


THE  CAPITOL  OF  MEXICO. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES   SENATE. 


WASHINGTON  : 
PRINTED   BY  C.  WENDELL. 

1856. 


CONTENTS. 


Proceedings  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs 

General  Quitman's  statement 

Colonel  Loring's  statement 

Major  Crittenden's  statement 

Colonel  Geary's  statement 

Captain  Lovell's  statement 

Captain  Naylor's  statement 

Captain  Naylor's  statement  covering  correspondence  on  Flag 


Page. 

.  3 

.  9 

.  13 

.  17 

.  18 

.  20 

,.  23 

..  25 

..  32 


#/  -      jr 


THE  AMERICAN  FLAG  IN  MEXICO. 


IN    TPIE    SENATE    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES, 

On  the  31st  day  of  Decemberj  A.  D.  1855,  Mr.  Foot,  Senator  from 
Vermont,  introduced,  with  some  appropriate  remarks,  the  following 
resolution,  to  wit : 

Resolved,  That  the  report  of  Benjamin  S.  Roberts,  captain  of  the  rifles,  made  to  General 
Twiggs,  on  returning  to  him  the  American  flag  whicli  had  been  the  first  planted  upon  the 
capitol  of  Mexico,  and  which  he  had  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  Captain  Roberts  in  the  storm- 
ing of  Chepultepec,  and  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  bearing  date  *'  City  of  Mexico, 
17th  September,  1847,"  be  taken  from  the  files  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  Senate,  and 
be  printed  ;  and  that  the  president  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  cause  an  engrossed  copy  thereof 
to  be  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State  with  the  flag  whose  history  it  gives,  and  which 
has  already  been  deposited  in  said  department  by  order  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Foot  moved  to  refer  the  resolution  to  the  committee  on  military 
aifairs. 

Mr.  BiiowN,  of  Mississippi,  expressing  a  wish  to  make  some  remarks 
on  the  suhject,  the  motion  was  laid  over  until  the  7th  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1856,  when  the  following  proceedings  took  place  on  the  suhject : 

COLONEL  BENJAMIN   S.    ROBERTS. 

Mr.  FOOT.  I  ask  the  Senate  now  to  proceed  to  the  consideration 
of  the  resolution  which  I  introduced  this  day  week,  in  reference  to 
Colonel  Roberts.  I  understand  that  the  senator  from  Mississippi  (Mr. 
Brown)  desires  to  submit  some  remarks  upon  it  before  it  shall  be  re- 
ferred to  the  committee  on  military  affairs,  that  being  the  motion  now 
pending.  I  also  introduced,  at  the  same  time,  a  joint  resolution  to 
request  the  President  to  cause  a  sword,  with  suitable  devices,  to  be 
presented  to  Colonel  Roberts,  in  testimony  of  the  high  sense  enter- 
tained by  Congress  of  his  gallantry  and  good  conduct  at  the  storming 
of  Chepultepec  and  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  but,  inasmuch 
as  the  Senate  are  acting  upon  a  determination  not  to  receive  bills  or 
resolutions,  requiring  the  co-ordinate  action  of  the  other  House,  until 
that  branch  of  Congress  shall  be  organized,  that  joint  resolution  is 
withdrawn  for  the  time  being. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  the  Senate  resumed  the  consideration 
of  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  report  of  Benjamin  S.  Roberts,  captain  of  the  rifles,  made  to  General 
Twiggs,  on  returning  to  him  the  American  flag  which  had  been  the  first  planted  upon  the 
capitol  of  Mexico,  and  which  he  had  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  Captain  Roberts  in  the  storm- 
ing of  Chepultepec,  and  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  bearing  date  "  city  of  Mexico, 
17th  September,  1847,"  be  taken  from  the  files  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  Senate,  and 
be  printed  ;  and  that  the  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  cause  an  engrossed  copy  thereof 
to  be  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State  with  the  flag  whose  history  it  gives,  and  which 
has  already  been  deposited  in  said  department  by  order  of  the  Senate. 

The  pending  question  was  on  Mr.  Foot's  motion  to  refer  the  resolu- 
tion to  the  Committee  on  Militarv  Affairs. 


4  PROCEEDINGS   IN    THE 

Mr    RROWN      Mr.  President,  it  will  be  recollected  by  the  older 
Zberso?S-body  that  the  flag  mentioned  in  the  -solutKm  was 

IbXs  in  Con-ress,  a  discussion  arose  in  the  Senate  bet^yeen  Mr. 
S^il'nd  Mi&oote,  of  Mis^ssippi,  which  ^^IZ  Zt^  i 
iect  may  find  at  pao;e  890  of  the  Congressional  Globe  ot  that  year  i 
•Thairnot  detain  the  Senate  by  reading  it:  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  re- 
ilrk^hat  bW^^^  Foot  thought  that,  in  the  paper  which  was  then 
resented  iSce  was  done  1o  Major  General  Qmtman,  who  com- 
Sed  the  forces  under  whom,  and  at  the  head  of  whom,  the  first 
r<^was  placed  upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico.  The  paper  which  is 
Jfered  doe  not  disclose  the  fact  that  General  Quitman  was  m  the 
o.flnnnt  nil  had  anvthins  to  do  with  the  command,  or  gave  any 
:  ders  whidhed  1o  thf^ting  of  that  flag  upon  the  wall  of  Mexico 
Becauslof  this  unintentional  injustice-I  am  willing  to  admit^tfiat 

it  is  unintentional-to  the  major  ge^^^':j[.^^^^^^^^^^.^f,/ f^^  "''^e 
Senators  at  that  day  objected  to  having  this  paper  placed  pon  the 
files  of  the  State  Department,  as  giving  the  correct  histoiy  oi  the 
transaction  It  is  noted  in  the  debates  that  an  angry  controversy 
arosHn  r^^^^^^^  to  it.  That  portion  of  the  debates  has  been  sup- 
pressed, and  very  properly  suppressed,  m  my  judgment. 
^  As  I  intend  to  make  the  paper  part  of  my  remarks-I  mean  the 

one  alluded  to  by  the  Senator  from  X'^'^T^^:"}'"'    }Z^^^^^^^ 
printed,  and  enrolled  on  parchment,  and  filed  m  the  State  Depart- 
ment—I send  it  to  the  Secretary's  desk,  and  ask  to  have  it  read. 
The  Secretary  read  it,  as  follows : 

City  of  Mexico,  September  17,  1847. 

Sir-  I  have  the  honor  to  return  the  American  flag  you  intrusted  to  my  keeping  in  the 

storming  of  Chepultepec  and  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico.     Your  charge  to  me  was.      I 

expect  that  flaAo  be  the  first  planted^pon  the  capitol  of  Mexico  "     The  commission  has 

been  executed, Ld  the  first  American  flag  that  ever  floated  upon  the  palace  of  the  capitol  of 

''it'^L^aCthe'/Stlantron  the  five-gun  battery,  stormed  and  carried  by  my  assaulting 
party  at  the  left  of  the  enemy's  lines  at  Cliepultepec.  .    i  .      ,i        -n     .orrimont 

It  was  also  the  first  planted  on  the  battery  =^tormed  and  carried  by  the  rifle  regiment, 
between  Chepultepec  and  the  Garita.  ,     r.     ..  i  .1      ^    *       +u„  r.,fn^ol  nf 

It  was  also  the  first  planted  on  the  batteries  at  the  Garita,  and  the  first  on  the  citadel  of 

^  It^'wls  carried  by  Sergeant  Manly,  of  "  F  "  company,  whom  I  selected  to  bear  so  distin- 
<ruished  a  flag,  and  the  anticipations  I  entertained  of  his  doing  honor  to  the  banner  ot  his 
country  were  not  disappointed.     I  de.ire  to  commend  him  to  your  special  consideration. 

This  flaff  would  have  been  returned  through  him,  but  for  a  severe  wound  winch  conhnes 
him  to  his  quarters.  It  is  proper  that  I  should  state  that  I  was  not  with  the  flag  when  planted 
on  the  battery  at  the  Garita,  and  when  planted  on  the  battery  between  the  Garita  and  the 
city,  having  been  detained  to  guard  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  five-gun  baltery  assaulted  by 
■  my  storming  party.  On  inspection  you  will  perceive  that  this  flag  lias  been  pierced  six  times 
by  the  balls  of  the  enemy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  regard,  &c.,  ROBERTS 

Captain  Rifles. 
General  D.  E.  Twiggs, 

Commanding  Second  Division. 


UNITED    STATES   SENATE.  5 

Mr.  BROWN.  Mr.  President,  it  will  be  seen,  from  tlie  reading  of 
that  letter,  that  I  was  correct  in  saying  that  it  makes  no  mention 
whatever  of  Major  General  Quitman.  Captain  Roberts  seems  to  have 
received  this  flag  from  General  Twiggs,  who  was  not  in  command  at 
the  time  when  this  service  was  performed.  It  will  be  further  remarked, 
that  Captain  Roberts  states  in  his  dispatch  that  the  flag  was  "the  first 
planted  on  the  five-gun  battery  stormed  and  carried  by  the  rifle  regi- 
ment between  Chepultepec  and  the  Garita."  He  also  says  that  it  was 
"the  first  planted  on  the  batteries  at  the  Garita,  and  the  first  on  the 
citadel  of  Mexico."     He  afterwards  remarks,  however — 

"  It  is  proper  that  I  should  state  that  I  was  not  with  the  flag  when  planted  on  the  battery 
at  the  Garita,  and  when  planted  on  the  battery  between  the  Garita  and  the  city." 

If  Colonel  Roberts  was  not  present,  the  history  of  the  transaction 
ought  to  state  how  he  came  in  possession  of  the  fact,  that  this  precise 
flag  was  the  first  raised  at  those  two  points,  for  he  admits  himself  not 
to  have  been  personally  present,  and,  therefore,  he  must  have  derived 
his  information  from  some  other  quarter.  Out  of  that  has  grown 
some  controversy  in  which  I  do  not  wish  to  entangle  myself;  but  it  is 
better,  when  we  are  settling  a  transaction  of  this  sort,  in  which  the 
reputation  of  gentlemen  who  have  rendered  distinguished  services  to 
the  country  is  somewhat  involved,  to  turn  our  attention  to  the  report 
of  the  general-in-chief.  I  ask  that  the  committee  who  shall  have  this 
question  in  charge  will  turn  their  attention  to  Major  General  Scott's 
report,  dated  "Headquarters  of  the  army.  National  Palace  of  Mexico, 
September  18,  184'7,"  to  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  Senate  docu- 
ments, first  session  Thirtieth  Congress,  1847  and  1848,  beginning  at 
page  375.  From  that  paper  it  will  be  seen  that  the  general-in-chief, 
after  giving  an  account  of  certain  consultations  between  oflicers  of  the 
army,  and  stating  the  views  expressed  by  them,  says: 

"  Those  views  I  repeatedly  in  the  course  of  the  day  communicated  to  Major  Ggneral  Quit- 
man ;  but  being-  in  hot  pursuit — gallant  himself  and  ably  supported  by  Brigadier  Generals 
Sliields  and  Smitli — Shields  badly  wounded  before  Chepultepec  and  refusing  to  retire — as 
well  as  by  all  the  officers  and  men  of  the  column,  Quitmau  continued  to  press  forward  under 
flank  and  direct  fires  ;  carried  an  intermediate  battery  of  two  guns,  and  then  the  gate,  before 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  but  not  without  proportionate  loss,  increased  by  his  steady 
maintenance  of  that  position." 

After  giving  some  further  account  of  the  day's  transactions,  he 
says: 

"  Quitman  within  the  city,  adding  several  defences  to  the  position  he  had  won,  and  shel- 
tering his  corps  as  well  as  practicable,  now  awaited  the  result  of  daylight  under  the  guns  of 
the  formidable  citadel,  yet  to  be  subdued." 

After  the  whole  fighting  was  over,  General  Scott  gives  an  account 
of  a  visit  of  a  deputation  of  the  city — the  city  council — who  waited 
upon  him  for  the  purpose  of  surrendering  the  city  on  terms  which  he 
promptly  rejected,  and  insisted  upon  taking  it  npon  his  own  terms. 
After  the  interview,  he  says : 

"  At  the  termination  of  the  interview  with  tlie  city  deputation,  I  communicated,  about 
daylight,  orders  to  Worth  and  Quitman  to  advance  slowly  and  cautiously  (to  guard  against 
treachery)  towards  the  heart  of  tiie  city,  and  to  occupy  its  stronger  and  more  commanding 
points.  Q,xulma7i  proceeded  to  the  great  plaza  or  square,  planted  guards,  and  hoisted  the  colors  of 
the  United  States  on  the  national  palace,  containing  the  halls  of  Congress  and  executive  de- 
partments of  federal  Mexico." 

Now,  sir,  when  it  is  proposed  to  do  honor  to  national  flags  because 
they  were  first  planted  upon  the  walls  of  Mexico,  I  do  not  choose  that 


6  PROCEEDINGS   IN*   THE 

the  name  of  the  major  general  in  command^  especially  when  that 
major  general  is  a  distinguished  citizen  of  my  own  State,  shall  he 
wholly  omitted  from  the  record  Avithout  some  effort  on  my  part,  as  his 
representative  in  this  hody,  to  see  justice  done  him.  I  am  as  willing 
as  the  Senator  from  Vermont  to  award  all  possihle  honors  to  Captain 
Eoherts,  hut  I  will  never  consent  to  see  the  honors  of  the  nation  he- 
stowed  upon  a  captain  in  the  line  to  the  exclusion  of  his  major  gen- 
eral ;  and  especially  when,  in  doing  honor  to  that  captain,  for  aught 
that  appears  on  the  paper,  Major  General  Twiggs,  who  was  not  in  the 
field  at  all  upon  that  occasion,  is  represented  as  the  general  who  gave 
the  order  to  hear  the  flag.  Sir,  the  man  who  in  after  years  shall  ex- 
amine the  archives  of  the  State  Department  and  find  this  paper  there, 
if  he  knew  nothing  else  of  the  transaction,  would  he  very  apt  to  con- 
clude that  Major  General  Twiggs  was  in  command,  and  that  Major 
General  Quitman  was  not  in  the  field  at  all,  whereas  the  reverse  was 
the  case. 

I  hope  that  the  committee  who  shall  have  this  question  in  charge 
will  sift  it  to  the  bottom.  Let  Captain  (now  Colonel)  Roberts  have  all 
the  honor  that  is  due  to  him.  Heaven  knows  I  would  not  pluck  a 
solitary  leaf  from  the  laurel  that  adorns  his  brow.  That  he  is  a  gallant 
soldier,  I  am  perfectly  willing  and  ready  to  admit.  That  he  exposed 
his  person  and  endangered  his  life  in  defence  of  his  country  I  am  as 
ready  to  acknowledge  as  the  Senator  from  Vermont.  But  I  am  not 
willing  to  admit  that  he  planted  the  first  flag  that  was  ever  placed 
upon  the  walls  of  Mexico,  and  did  it  of  his  own  will — or  by  the  order 
of  Major  General  Twiggs. 

Sir,  I  have  here  a  letter  to  which  these  squabbles  gave  rise,  when 
this  question  was  up  before.  It  is  a  letter  written  by  Captain  Roberts 
himself,  dated  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  12,  1848.  I  send  it  to  the 
Secretary's  desk,  and  ask  to  have  it  read.  I  present  this  letter  as  the 
true  history  of  the  transaction  rather  than  the  one  which  is  found  on 
the  files,  and  which  my  friend  from  Vermont  proposes  to  honor. 
Although  it  does  not,  I  think,  come  up  to  the  history  of  the  transac- 
tion as  detailed  by  Major  General  Scott,  the  general-in- chief,  it  does 
make  honorable  mention  of  General  Quitman,  who  was  in  command. 

The  Secretary  read  the  letter  as  follows  : 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  12,  1848. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Union: 

I  have  noticed,  through  the  Washington  correspondent  of  tlie  Journal  of  Commerce,  of 
date  July  1st,  giving  the  debate  in  the  Senate  of  that  day,  that  misunderstandings,  out  of 
which  difficulties  may  grow,  have  arisen  between  the  friends  of  Generals  Twiggs  and  Quit- 
man touching  the  fag  presented  by  General  Twiggs  to  Congress,  It  may  be  proper  before 
mischief  can  arise,  or  these  misunderstandings  grow  further,  to  correct  the  errors  that  seem 
to  be  entertained  relating  to  the  history  of  this  flag.  I  know  its  entire  history.  It  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

On  the  12th  of  September  General  Smith  called  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  picked  men  from 
General  Twigg's  division,  as  a  storming  party  for  the  assault  of  Chepultepec.  I  was  selected 
by  General  Smith  to  command  the  party  from  his  brigade,  and,  after  the  party  was  organ- 
ized, was  taken  by  him  to  General  Twiggs'  headquarters,  where  was  this  flag,  which  Gene- 
ral Twiggs  gave  to  me,  saying  in  substance,  among  other  things,  "  This  is  a  flag  1  wish  to 
go  with  the  storming  party  from  my  division.  Let  me  hear  that  it  is  the  first  flag  on  Che- 
pultepec, in  the  city,  and  on  the  capitol."  Six  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  were 
selected  from  the  rifle  regiment  to  bear  this  flag  at  the  head  of  the  storming  column. 

The  storming  party  from  this  division  (commanded  by  Captain  Casey,  second  infantry) 
yeported  to   General   Scott   at  Tacubaya  before   sundown,  and  was  assigned  to  the  com- 


UNITED    STATES    SENATE.  7 

mand  of  General  Quitman  ;  and  from  that  time  until  the  flag  was  raised  upon  the  capitol  it 
was  under  his  control,  and  all  the  movements  of  the  storming  party  carrying  it  were  under 
his  eye  and  directions. 

This  storming  party  stormed  and  carried  the  strong  five-gun  battery  commanding  the 
Tacubaya  road  at  the  base  of  the  hill  in  the  rear  of  Chepultepec,  and  this  Jlag  was  the  first 
planted  on  that  battery.  It  was  also  the  first  flag  planted  on  the  strong  battery  midwav  on  the 
road  between  Chepultepec  and  the  Garita  of  Belen,  which  was  stormed  and  carried  by  the 
rifle  regiment,  supported  by  the  South  Carolina  regiment.  It  was  also  the  first  flag  planted 
on  the  Garita  of  Belen,  which  work  was  also  stormed  by  tlie  rifle  regiment,  supported  by 
General  Smith's  entire  brigade  and  General  Quitman's  entire  division.  The  storming  of 
these  three  batteries  was  directed  by  General  Cluitman  in  person,  with  the  assistance  and 
support  of  General  Smith. 

The  fighting  of  the  13th  ended  with  the  day  ;  and  at  daylight  next  morning,  General 
Quitman  formed  his  division,  (General  Smith's  brigade  in  front,)  and  entered  the  city.  He 
took  possession  of  the  citadel;  and  by  his  order,  delivered  to  me  through  General  Smith,  this 
flag  was  raised  above  that  mighty  fortress.  The  division  advanced,  led  by  Generals  Quit- 
man and  Smith  on  foot,  and  took  possession  of  tlie  Capitol,  when  this  flag,  by  the  order  of 
General  Quitman  delivered  to  me  by  a  staff-ofllcer,  was  raised,  displaying  the  first  Jhmrican 
banner  above  the  National  Palace  of  Mexico.  This  is  the  entire  history  of  the  flag.  I  un- 
derstood it  to  be  the  property  of  General  Twiggs,  and  at  his  request  returned  it  to  him  with 
my  written  report.  It  was  borne  in  these  actions  by  troops  of  his  division,  detached  from 
his  immediate  command,  and  placed  under  the  orders  of  General  Quitman. 

If  this  flag  is  to  become  of  any  historical  interest,  its  history  should  be  truly  told  ;  and  if 
any  merit  is  supposed  to  attach  to  the  fortune  or  accident  of  raising  the  first  flag  upon  the 
Capitol  of  Mexico,  it  is  just  to  General  Quitman  to  have  it  known  it  was  done  by  troops  he 
commanded  in  person  and  under  his  orders. 

I  am,  sir,  very  truly  yours,  B.  S.  ROBERTS,  Captain  Rifles. 

Mr.  BROWN.  Mr.  President,  if  that  had  been  the  report  which 
it  was  proposed  to  print  by  order  of  Congress^  and  to  transcribe  on 
parchment  and  file  in  the  State  Department,  as  containing  the  true 
history  of  this  flag,  there  woukl  probably  have  been  no  controversy 
about  it.  Here  Captain  Roberts  again  repeats  that  it  was  the  first  flag 
planted  at  three  different  points,  but  he  admits  himself  not  to  have 
been  at  two  of  them.  He  omits  to  mention  how  he  came  into  posses- 
sion of  the  knowledge  of  those  flicts,  but  they  are  yet  of  sufficient 
consequence  to  have  given  rise  to  controversy,  and  there  is  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  whether  it  was  the  first  flag  planted  on  these  points. 
To  that  matter  I  beg  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee,  when  they 
shall  take  this  subject  into  consideration.  I  desire  that  the  letter 
which  has  just  been  read  by  the  Secretary,  at  my  request,  shall  go  to 
the  committee,  and  shall  be  considered  by  them  in  connexion  with 
this  subject. 

With  these  remarks,  I  am  willing  to  let  the  subject  go  to  the  com- 
mittee. If  credit  is  due  to  General  Quitman,  I  want  him  to  have  it. 
If  it  is  not  due  to  him,  I  know  he  would  scorn  to  take  it.  And  now, 
it  is  but  just  to  him  to  say  that,  though  he  is  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  I  have  not  made  these  remarks  at  his  request,  nor 
by  his  solicitation,  nor  even  with  his' knowledge  ;  but  his  reputation 
belongs  to  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and,  as  one  of  her  Senators  here,  I 
have  felt  bound  to  protect  it. 

Mr.  FOOT.  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  intend  to  prolong  this  dis- 
cussion in  anticipation  of  the  action  of  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs — a  very  proper  tribunal  to  investigate  any  question  that  may 
arise  between  conflicting  claimants  for  the  honor  of  being  concerned 
in  planting  the  first  national  flag  of  the  United  States  on  the  palace 
walls  of  Mexico.  It  will  be  recollected  that  upon  the  introduction  of 
the  resolution,  so  far  from  calling  for  the  action  of  the  Senate  ujion  it, 
I  accompanied  it  with  a  motion  to  refer  it  to  the  appropriate  com- 


8  PROCEEDINGS    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES    SENATE. 

mittee,  the  Commitee  on  Military  Affairs,  for  their  investigation  and  re- 
l)ort.  It  is  proper,  perhaps,  that  I  should  say  that  at  the  time  of  the  in- 
troduction of  the  resolution  I  was  not  apprised  of  the  existence  of  con- 
flicting claims  to  this  honor.  I  knew  that  by  the  order  of  the  Senate  the 
flag  had  been  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  State  Department.  I 
knew  that  it  had  been  presented  to  the  Senate  by  the  present  head  of 
the  War  Department,  Mr.  Davis,  then  a  member  of  this  body  from 
the  State  of  Mississippi.  I  knew  that  he  had  received  it  from  G-en- 
eral  Twiggs,  and  that  Colonel  Koberts,  then  captain  of  the  rifles, 
had  returned  it  to  Greneral  Twiggs,  from  whom  he  received  it,  giving 
its  history  so  far  forth  as  it  is  given  in  that  report.  I  stated  the  his- 
tory of  the  flag  to  the  Senate  as  disclosed  in  the  documents  appended 
to  the  few  remarks  which  I  submitted  the  other  day,  among  which  are 
extracts  from  the  report  of  General  Quitman,  in  which  he  himself  ap- 
pears to  have  placed  Colonel  Koberts  at  the  head  of  the  storming 
]3arty  under  whom  that  flag  was  first  raised  upon  the  walls  of  Mexico, 
but  undoubtedly  by  the  direction  of  General  Quitman  at  the  time ; 
and  therein  there  is  no  controversy  between  the  parties  in  respect  to 
the  exactness  of  the  transaction  as  it  occurred,  in  my  judgment;  but,  if 
there  are  any  points  of  controversy  between  these  or  other  parties, 
claimants  to  this  honor,  it  is  preeminently  proper  that  the  matter 
should  undergo  the  proposed  examination  by  the  Committee  on  Mil- 
itary Affairs. 

It  is  proper  that  I  should  add  further,  that  if  there  be  any  implied 
or  inferential  injustice  done  to  General  Quitman  in  the  report  of 
Colonel  Koberts,  by  the  omission  of  the  mention  of  his  name  in  these 
transactions,  it  is,  in  my  judgment,  altogether  unintentional  and  ac- 
cidental on  his  part ;  for  I  say  what  I  know  when  I  declare  that  no 
man  in  this  country  entertains  for  the  personal  and  public  character 
of  General  Quitman  as  a  citizen,  as  a  general,  and  as  a  hero,  higher 
esteem  than  Colonel  Koberts  himself.  His  claim  to  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing, by  his  own  hand,  first  raised  the  national  flag  upon  the  palace 
walls  of  Mexico,  rests  mainly  upon  the  testimony  of  General  Quit- 
man himself. 

The  motion  to  refer  the  resolution  to  the  Committee  on  Military 
Aflkirs  was  agreed  to. 


34th  Congress,  )  SENATE.  C  Kep.  Com. 

1st  Session.      )  i    ISTo.  32. 


On  the  6tli  Marcli,  Mr.  Weller,  of  California,  Chairman  of  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  made  the  following  report : 

m  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


March  6,  1856. — Ordered  to  be  printed. 


Mr.  Weller  made  the  following  (adverse) 

REPORT. 

[To  accompany  Joint  Resolution  S.  No.  1.] 

The  Committee  on  Ifilitary  Affairs  make  the  folloiving  report  : 

On  the  7th  of  January  last  there  was  referred  to  this  committee  a 
resolution  of  the  Senate,  as  follows : 

Resolved^  That  the  report  of  Benjamin  S.  Koherts,  captain  of  the 
rifles,  made  to  General  Twiggs,  on  returning  to  him  the  American 
flag  which  had  heen  the  first  planted  upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico,  and 
which  he  had  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  Captain  Koherts  in  the 
storming  of  Chepultepec,  and  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  hear- 
ing date  ^^  City  of  Mexico,  l'7th  September,  1847,"  he  taken  from  the 
files  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  he  printed ;  and 
that  the  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  cause  an  engrossed  copy 
thereof  to  he  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State  with  the  flag  whose 
history  it  gives,  and  which  has  already  been  deposited  in  said  depart- 
ment by  order  of  the  Senate. 

And  on  the  4th  February  last  the  following  joint  resolution  (S.  K. 
No.  1)  was  also  referred  to  this  committee: 

'^  Resolved  by  the.  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
Slates  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President  of  the 
United  States  be  requested  to  cause  a  sword,  with  suitable  devices,  to 
be  presented  to  Colonel  Benjamin  S.  Koherts,  in  testimony  of  the  high 
sense  entertained  by  Congress  of  his  gallantry  and  good  conduct  at 
the  storming  of  Chepultepec  and  in  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico." 

After  the  unsuccessful  bombardment  of  Chepultepec,  on  September 
12,  1847,  the  general-in-chief  (Major  General  Scott)  determined  to 
storm  the  works  on  the  succeeding  day.  A  detail  was  accordingly 
made  from  the  commands  of  Major  Generals  Quitman  and  Pillow. 
Captain  (now  Colonel)  Benj.  S.  Koherts,  of  the  rifles,  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  storming  party  detailed  from  General  Smith's  brigade. 
When  they  were  about  to  start  on  their  perilous  mission,  a  stand  of 
national  colors  was  placed,  by  General  Twiggs,  in  Colonel  Kobert's 
hands  with  the  charge,  ''I  expect  this  flag  to  be  the  first  planted 
upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico."  This  flag,  under  the  direction  of  Cap- 
tain Koherts,  was  borne  by  Sergeant  Manly  of  the  rifles,  and  it  is 
9 


10  REPORT. 

alleged  to  have  been  the  first  flag  displayed  at  the  five-gun  battery, 
(at  the  base  of  Chepultex^ec,)  to  have  been  the  first  planted  upon 
the  four-gun  battery,  (between  Chepultepec  and  the  Garita  de  Belen,) 
to  have  been  the  first  on  the  batteries  of  the  Garita ;  first  upon  the 
citadel  of  Mexico,  and  ''the  first  American  flag  that  ever  floated  upon 
the  palace  of  the  Mexican  capitol." 

Captain  Koberts  subsequently  returned  this  flag  to  General  Twiggs 
with  the  following  letter : 

City  of  Mexico,  Septemher  17,  1847. 
.  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  return  the  American  flag  you  intrusted  to 
my  keeping  in  the  storming  of  Chepultepec  and  the  taking  of  the  city 
of  Mexico.  Your  charge  to  me  was:  "I  expect  that  ^«^  to  be  the 
first  planted  upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico."  The  commission  has  been 
executed,  and  the  first  American  flag  that  ever  floated  upon  the  palace 
of  the  capitol  of  Mexico  is  now  returned  to  you. 

It  was  also  the  first  planted  on  the  five-gun  battery,  stormed  and 
carried  by  my  assaulting  party  at  the  left  of  the  enemies  lines  at 
Chepultepec. 

It  was  also  the  first  planted  on  the  battery,  stormed  and  carried  by 
the  rifle  regiment,  between  Chepultepec  and  the  Garita. 

It  was  also  the  first  planted  on  the  batteries  at  the  Garita,  and  the 
first  on  the  citadel  of  the  city. 

It  was  carried  by  Sergeant  Manly,  of ''F"  company,  whom  I  se- 
lected to  bear  so  distinguished  a  flag,  and  the  anticipations  I  enter- 
tained of  his  doing  honor  to  the  banner  of  his  country  were  not 
disappointed.     I  desire  to  commend  him  to  your  special  consideration. 

This  flag  would  have  been  returned  through  him,  but  for  a  severe 
wound  which  oonfines  him  to  his  quarters.  It  is  proper  that  I  should 
state  that  I  was  not  with  the  flag  when  planted  on  the  battery  at  the 
Garita^  and  when  planted  on  the  battery  between  the  Garita  and  the 
city,  having  been  detained  to  guard  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  five- 
gun  battery  assaulted  by  my  storming  party.  On  inspection,  you  will 
perceive  that  this  flag  has  been  pierced  six  times  by  the  balls  of  the 
enemy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  regard,  &c. , 

B.  S.  EGBERTS, 

Captain  llifles. 

General  D.  E.  Twiggs, 

Commanding  Second  Division. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  1848,  this  flag  was  presented  by  Senator  Davis, 
of  Mississippi,  in  the  name  of  General  Twiggs,  to  Congress,  and  it 
was  ordered  to  be  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State.  On  the  1st 
of  July,  1848,  the  letter  of  Captain  Roberts,  given  above,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Senate  and  laid  upon  the  table. 

The  resolution  now  submitted  proposes  to  engross  that  letter  on 
parchment,  with  a  view  to  its  being  filed  with  the  flag  in  the  State 
Department. 

The  committee  have  maturely  examined  this  subject,  and  are  satis- 
fied that  Captain  Roberts  has  fallen  into  some  errors  in  stating  the 
history  of  this  flag. 


REPORT.  11 

In  order  to  ascertain  tlie  facts  in  the  case,  the  committee  called 
upon  some  of  the  principal  officers  who  were  engaged  with  the  army 
at  the  points  named  in  the  letter,  and  all  of  them  deny  having  seen 
this  flag  displayed  at  the  four-gun  hattery,  or  at  the  Garita  de  Belen, 
or  on  the  citadel.  The  only  flag  raised  at  the  Garita  de  Belen  was 
that  of  the  Palmetto  regiment,  and  it  was  there  displayed  under  the 
personal  order  of  General  Quitman,  hy  Lieutenant  Selleck  (who  was 
severely  wounded  in  doing  so)  of  the  South  Carolina  regiment. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  Septemher,  the  rifles  were  placed  in 
advance  and  moved  towards  the  city.  From  the  statements  of  General 
Quitman  and  Major  Crittenden,  it  appears  that  the  regimental  colors 
were  displayed  on  the  citadel  during  a  short  halt.  Colonel  Geary 
was  directed  by  General  Quitman  to  occupy  the  citadel,  over  which 
he  hoisted  the  colors  of  one  of  the  companies  of  his  regiment,  while 
the  column  moved  on  to  the  heart  of  the  city. 

In  regard  to  the  hoisting  of  the  flag  at  the  Grand  Plaza,  the  com- 
mittee refer  to  the  statement  of  General  Quitman.  Although  a  regi- 
mental flag  had  been  displayed  from  the  window  of  the  palace  for  a 
moment,  it  is  undeniable  tliat  Captain  Koberts,  under  the  immediate 
orders  of  General  Quitman,  was  the  first  to  display  our  national  em- 
blem from  the  stafl"  upon  tlie  Mexican  capitol. 

It  is  due  to  Captain  Roberts  to  say  that  he  does  not  pretend  to  have 
been  with  the  flag  after  the  fall  of  the  five-gun  battery,  until  it  had 
passed  the  gates  of  the  city. 

A  portion  of  his  letter  was,  therefore,  based  upon  information  re- 
ceived from  others,  which  the  committee  believe  to  be  erroneous. 

The  committee  do  not  regard  the  letter  of  Captain  Roberts  as  por- 
traying such  a  history  of  that  flag  as  ought  to  be  engrossed  in  the 
manner  proposed  by  the  resolution. 

The  letter,  however,  with  the  statements  of  distinguished  officers, 
will  now  be  published,  and  will  become  a  part  of  our  national  ar- 
cliives.  Those  who,  in  after  years,  look  upon  the  flag  and  desire  to 
know  the  incidents  connected  with  it,  can  turn  to  these  statements, 
and  to  that  history  whicli  records  the  deeds  of  our  gallant  countrymen 
in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  and  obtain  perhaps  much  more  satisfactory 
information  than  this  letter  could  afford. 

In  regard  to  the  joint  resolution,  which  proposes  to  give  a  sword  to 
Captain  Roberts,  the  committee  are  also  constrained,  by  a  sense  of 
justice  to  other  gallant  and  equally  meritorious  men,  to  report  ad- 
versely to  it. 

That  Captain  Roberts  displayed  great  gallantry  in  the  several  con- 
tests in  which  he  was  engaged  with  the  storming  party  on  the  13th 
September  is  beyond  question,  and  full  credit  was  given  to  him  in  the 
official  report  of  his  superior  afficers  ;  and  his  conduct  has  been  duly 
appreciated  and  acknowledged  by  Congress  by  conferring  upon  him 
two  brevets,  major  and  lieutenant  colonel. 

In  the  attack  upon  the  five-gun  battery  he  was  the  third  in  com- 
mand, although  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  advance  company..  Cap- 
tain Casey  of  the  2d  infantry  commanded  the  storming  party  after 
its  organization,  and  fell  severely  wounded.  Captain  Paul  succeeded 
to  the  command,  and.  there  is  no  reason  to  induce  Congress  to  discri- 
minate between  these  officers  and  Captain  Roberts. 


12  REPORT. 

One  of  tlie  hardest  fought  battles  was  at  Garita  de  Belen,  in  which 
the  gallant  commander  of  the  rifles  (Colonel  Loring)  lost  an  arm. 
Captain  Roberts  was  not  in  this  assault,  having  been  left,  as  he  states, 
at  the  five-gun  battery  to  guard  the  prisoners  detained  at  that  point. 

The  series  of  battles  fought  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  city  of 
Mexico  terminated  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Mexican  troops  on  the 
night  of  the  13th  of  September.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  our 
army  marched  into  the  city  without  resistance,  and  then,  as  before 
stated,  our  national  flag  was  hoisted  over  the  Mexican  capitol.  As 
the  firing  on  both  sides  had  ceased  some  hours  previously,  there  was 
neither  danger  to  encounter  nor  personal  risk  to  run  in  performing 
this  duty,  honorable  as  it  certainly  was,  but  by  no  means  so  hazardous 
as  to  deserve  the  especial  commendation  of  Congress.  When  field  and 
company  officers  vied  with  each  other  in  deeds  of  heroism  and  valor, 
it  would  be  unjust  to  discriminate  between  them.  The  names  of  all 
these  brave  men  will  occupy  the  brightest  page  in  our  country's  his- 
tory, and,  with  their  daring  exploits,  will  be  treasured  up  by  the 
American  people. 

The  only  officers  in  the  Mexican  war  to  whom  swords  have  been 
presented  by  Congress  are  Generals  Taylor,  Quitman,  Worth,  Twiggs, 
Butler,  Henderson,  Wool,  and  Hamer.  ISTone  of  these  officers  held 
rank  below  brigadier  general. 

The  committee,  anxious  to  investigate  this  subject  as  fully  as  possi- 
ble, called  upon  officers  who  were  in  the  field  and  in  positions  which 
enabled  them  to  observe  all  that  transpired,  for  written  statements, 
which  they  have  very  kindly  furnished,  and  which,  in  justice  to  all 
concerned,  the  committee  append  hereto,  as  a  part  of  this  report,  as 
constituting  the  most  reliable  history  of  the  American  flag  in  Mexico ; 
and  the  committee  ask  to  be  discharged  from"  the  further  consideration 
of"  the  subject. 

For  correct  information  as  to  the  relative  position  of  the  places  re- 
ferred to  in  these  reports^  see  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1, 1st  session  oOtli  Congress, 
and  the  map  accompanying  General  Quitman's  official  report,  at  page 
408. 


Washington,  February  9,  1856. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  note  from 
your  clerk,  enclosing  a  copy  of  a  proposed  resolution,  submitted  to  the 
consideration  of  that  committee,  and  also  enclosing  a  copy  of  a  letter 
from  Colonel  B.  S.  Roberts,  of  the. rifles,  to  General  Twiggs,  dated 
city  of  Mexico,  September  17, 1847,  in  relation  to  the  first  flag  planted 
on  the  five-gun  battery  at  the  base  of  Chepultepec,  the  battery  be- 
tween that  fortress  and  the  gates  of  Mexico,  the  batteries  at  the  Garita 
or  gate  Belen,  the  citadel,  and  lastly  the  Capitol  of  Mexico,  and  re- 
questing such  information  as  I  may  possess  in  regard  to  these  matters. 

As  the  commander  of  that  portion  of  the  army,  in  Mexico,  which 
stormed  and  carried  these  batteries  on  the  13th  September,  1847,  and 
on  the  following  day  planted  the  flag  of  our  country  first  on  tlie  cit- 
adel, and  finally  on  the  national  palace  of  Mexico,  I  feel  it  my  duty 


GENERAL    QUITMAN'S   STATEMENT.  13 

to  furnish  the  committee  with  such  facts,  within  my  own  knowledge, 
as  may  appear  to  he  within  your  inquiry. 

A  simple  narrative  will,  perhaps,  best  meet  your  views  ;  hut  to 
avoid  repetition  and  unnecessary  explanations,  I  beg  leave  to  refer 
the  committee,  as  a  part  of  my  answer,  to  my  official  report  of  the 
operations  of  that  portion  of  the  army  under  my  command,  at  the  time 
of  the  memorable  occurrences  alluded  to.  This  report  is  to  be  found 
in  vol.  2,  Ex.  Doc,  1st  sess.  30th  Cong.,  page  409  to  420  ;  also,  to 
Generals  Smith's  and  Shields'  reports  to  me,  page  223  to  228,  of  same 
volume  ;  and  to  enable  the  committee  to  comprehend  the  points  refer- 
red to  in  Colonel  Koberts'  statement,  and  also  in  this  narrative,  I 
refer  them  to  the  descriptive  plan  drawn  by  Lieutenant  Tower,  engi- 
neers, which  accompanies  my  official  report. 

After  the  bombardment  of  the  strong  fortress  of  Chepultepec  during 
the  wliole  day  of  the  12th  September,  1847,  General  Scott  determined 
to  carry  that  work  by  storm  on  the  following  morning. 

General  Pillow  was  directed,  witli  his  division,  to  assault  on  the 
west,  and  I  was  ordered  to  storm  it  on  the  south  side.  To  stengthen 
my  column  of  attack,* a  battalion  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  and 
thirteeen  officers,  who  had  volunteered  for  this  desperate  service, 
reported  to  me  from  General  Twiggs'  division.  This  temporary  bat- 
talion of  stormers,  under  command  of  Captain  Casey,  second  infantry, 
thougli  irreguhirly  organized,  carried  with  them  a  small  stand  of 
American  colors,  the  property  of  General  Twiggs,  which  it  appears 
Captain  (now  Colonel)  Eoberts  had  received  from  his  hands  for  this 
temporary  purpose.  This  battalion  of  regulars,  with  a  similarly  raised 
corps  of  stormers  from  my  own,  the  volunteer  division,  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Levi  Twiggs,  of  the  marines,  acompanied  by  a  pioneer 
corps  of  seventy  men,  under  Captain  Reynolds,  bearing  ladders,  crows, 
and  pickaxes,  were  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  placed  by  me  at  the 
head  of  tlie  column  of  attack  upon  the  fortress  of  Chepultepec.  These 
storming  ]mrties  were  supported  by  the  battalion  of  marines,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Watson.  The  remainder  of  my  division 
proper,  consisting  of  the  South  Carolina  and  New  York  regiments, 
under  General  Shields,  and  the  second  Pennsylvania  regiment,  (Colonel 
Geary,)  having  been  directed  to  scale  the  walls  on  the  left,  and  General 
Smith's  brigade,  which  had  been  placed  under  my  command,  having 
been  [)0sted  on  the  right  to  protect  the  column  of  attack  from  a  large 
body  of  the  enemy  who  threatened  our  right  flank,  the  storming  par- 
ties wei'c  ordered  to  advance  against  the  five-gun  battery  at  the  base  of 
the  liill,  where  tlie  aqueduct  joins  the  wall,  (A  on  the  plan.) 

These  v/orks,  though  defended  with  great  obstinacy  by  some  of  the 
best  Mexican  troops,  under  their  veteran  General  Bravo,  were  gal- 
lantly carried.  Major  Twiggs  was  here  killed  and  Captain  Casey 
severely  wounded.  These  casualties  devolved  the  command  upon 
Captain  Paul,  seventh  inilintry,  as  senior  officer.  Captain  Roberts,  of 
the  rifles,  being  second  in  command  of  the  stormers,  and  leading  the 
advanced  compan}'.  The  conduct  of  both  these  officers  fell  under  my 
immediate  observation,  and  deserved  the  high  commendation  which  I 
have  bestowed  in  my  official  report.  The  flag  referred  to  did  not  at- 
tract my  particular  attention,  but  I  have  no  doubt  it  was  the  first  car- 


14  GENERAL   QUITMAN 'S    STATEMENT. 

ried  over  that  battery,  although  no  flag  was  strictly  planted  there,  the 
troops  moving  on  so  soon  as  the  works  were  carried. 

As  it  is  not  contended  that  the  flag  in  question  was  carried  up  the 
hill,  I  pass  over  the  fall  of  the  strong  fortress  of  Chepultepec,  which 
soon  succeeded  the  capture  of  the  batteries. 

Having  the  preceding  night  received  discretionary  powers  from  the 
general-in-chief^  and  being  firmly  convinced  in  my  own  mind  that  the 
fate  of  our  gallant  little  army  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  depended  upon 
the  speedy  capture  of  the  enemy's  capitol,  I  determined  to  move  the 
whole  column  then  under  my  command,  directly  on  the  city,  by  the 
Tacubaya  causeway,  leading  through  the  Garita  Belen  into  Mexipo. 

The  rifle  regiment,  commanded  by  Major  Loring,  was  accordingly 
prolonged  on  that  road  towards  the  city,  and  so  soon  as  the  other  regi- 
ments could  be  resupplied  with  ammunition,  which  had  been  expended 
in  the  assault  of  Chepultepec,  they  were  rapidly  advanced  in  the  same 
direction. 

Before  us  on  the  causeway  was  a  battery  of  four  guns,  (B.)  This 
work,  defended  vigorously  by  a  considerable  Mexican  force,  was  gal- 
lantly carried  by  the  rifle  regiment,  with  the  aid  of  a  captured  8-inch 
howitzer,  served  by  the  lamented  Captain  Drum,  4th  artillery,  who 
fell  at  the  Garita.  The  standard  of  the  rifles,  and  I  presume  also  the 
flag  in  question,  passed  through  that  work,  but  I  saw  no  colors  planted 
there. 

There  was  still  before  us  the  Garita,  (Belen,)  or  gate  of  the  city, 
(C,)  itself  a  strong  work,  with  parapet  and  ditch  on  one  side  of  the 
aqueduct,  and  a  zigzag  redan  on  the  other,  defended  not  only  by  tlie 
formidable  citadel  of  Mexico,  (D,)  but  by  batteries  at  the  gate  (C) 
on  the  Paseo  (H)  and  at  the  entrance  of  a  street,  (I.)  These  various 
works  mounted  24  pieces  of  artillery  besides  several  movable,  and 
were  defended  by  a  very  large  Mexican  force.  My  whole  command 
then  consisted  of  Shield's  brigade,  (volunteers,)  Smith's  brigade,  3d 
Pennsylvania  regiment,  (Colonel  Geary,)  Marine  battalion,  9th  regi- 
ment (Major  Seymour)  of  Pierce's  brigade,  part  of  6th  regiment  of 
infantry,  (Major  Bonneville,)  and  a  detachment  of  4th  artillery  under 
Captain  Drum. 

On  the  reorganization  of  the  column  at  this  point,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  city,  the  rifles  and  South  Carolina  regi- 
ments were  placed  in  lead  of  the  column,  followed  by  the  remainder 
of  the  volunteer  division  and  Smith's  brigade,  in  the  order  mentioned 
in  my  official  report.  The  flag  referred  to  may  have  been  with  the 
column.     I  saw  but  the  regular  colors  of  the  two  leading  regiments. 

Thus  re-formed  and  prepared,  this  stern  and  resolute  column  ad- 
vanced to  the  severe  duty  before  them.  Soiled  with  dust  and  smoke, 
and  begrimed  with  blood,  the  officers  on  foot  with  the  men,  they 
moved  on  to  the  charge  with  banners  furled,  and  no  music  but  the 
roar  of  cannon  and  the  rattling  roll  of  small  arms. 

Within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Garita,  Major  Loring,  the  gal- 
lant commander  of  the  rifles,  being  severely  wounded,  the  command 
of  that  regiment  devolved  on  Captain,  [now  Major]  Crittenden,  as  the 
senior  officer  present;  Captain  Simonson,  who  was  there,  as  elsewhere, 
at  the  head  of  the  column,  having  commanded  for  a  short  time.     In 


GENERAL    QUITMAN'S   STATEMENT.  16 

this  last  bloody  and  decisive  charge  Captain  Koherts  did  not  partici- 
patCj  having  been  detained  at  Chepultepec.  The  Garita  was  taken 
on  a  charge  at  full  run,  at  twenty  minutes  past  one  o'clock.  Anxious 
to  wave  up  the  whole  column,  with  the  view  of  entering  the  citadel 
pell-mell  with  the  retreating  enemy,  I  called  for  colors.  The  Pal- 
metto flag  was  the  first  reported  to  me,  and  by  my  orders  Lieutenant 
Selleck,  of  the  South  Carolina  regiment,  then  on  my  staff  as  ordnance 
officer,  was  ordered  to  display  that  flag  on  the  Garita.  In  doing  so 
he  was  severely  wounded.  About  the  same  time  the  flag  of  the  rifle 
regiment  was  displayed  on  the  other  side  of  the  aqueduct.  The 
small  national  flag  referred  to  by  Colonel  Roberts  did  not  meet  my 
eye.  If  it  was  with  the  regiment  on  this  charge,  it  must  have  passed 
into  the  gate  about  the  same  time,  but  was  not  displayed  there.  No 
flag  was  regularly  planted  at  this  point  but  that  of  the  Palmetto  regi- 
ment, and  that  was  done,  not  for  idle  ceremony,  but  as  a  signal  to 
the  whole  army  that  the  gates  of  the  ^^  Sacred  City"  were  in  our  pos- 
session. The  brave  officers  and  men,  and  the  gallant  rival  regiments, 
who  had  participated  in  this  glorious  achievement,  were  too  well 
aware  that  there  was  yet  too  much  work  before  them,  to  waste  time  in 
mere  ceremony. 

After  an  arduous  day,  under  the  very  guns  of  the  citadel  and  adja- 
cent batteries,  resisting  repeated  bold  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  dis- 
lodge us,  the  night  was  consumed  in  constructing  and  mounting  for- 
midable batteries  at  the  Garita,  (CC,)  to  operate  on  the  enemy's  works 
in  the  morning. 

At  break  of  day  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  a  white  flag  announced 
the  surrender  of  the  enemy's  stronghold,  the  citadel,  (D.)  After 
sending  forward  Lieutenants  Beauregard  and  Lovell  of  my  staff,  both 
wounded,  to  guard  against  treachery,  I  put  the  column  in  motion, 
General  Smith's  brigade  in  front,  leaving  the  South  Carolina  regiment 
much  crippled  and  reduced  in  numbers,  their  brave  commander.  Major 
Gladden,  severely  wounded  at  the  Garita,  and  Captain  R.  G.  M. 
Donovant  in  command,  as  a  garrison  at  that  important  point.  On 
entering  the  citadel  the  second  Penns3dvania  regiment  (Colonel  Geary) 
was  there  left  in  garrison  to  secure  and  protect  this  key  of  the  city. 
I  do  not  recollect  seeing  the  flag  in  question  at  the  citadel.  Captain 
Crittenden  then  received  permission  to  display  the  colors  of  his  regi- 
ment on  that  strong  work,  and  if  requested  by  Captain  Roberts,  which 
I  do  not  now  remember,  I  doubt  not  I  extended  the  same  courtesy  to 
his  flag. 

From  this  point  my  command,  led  by  General  Smith  and  myself  on 
foot,  General  Shields  having  been  severely  wounded  the  preceding 
day,  marched  through  some  of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  the 
rifles  in  front,  to  the  grand  plaza,  where  the  column  was  halted,  the 
troops  occupying  two  sides  of  the  square  in  front  of  the  national 
palace,  as  designated  on  the  plot  in  red. 

After  entering  the  palace  in  person  for  a  few  moments,  anxious  to 
impress  the  immense  multitude  of  Mexicans  who  were  looking  down 
on  the  spectacle  from  the  balconies,  windows  and  roofs  of  hou^es^  with 
the  importance  of  the  ceremony,  I  directed  the  column  to  be  wheeled 
into  line,  formed  and  dressed,  with  officers  to  the  front,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  saluting  the  proud  flag  of  our  country  so  soon  as   it  should  be 


16  GENERAL    QUITMAN's    STATEMENT. 

displayed  from  the  flagstaff  over  the  palace,  and  at  the  same  time 
directed  my  principal  staff  officerj  Lieutenant  M.  Lovell,  to  have  the 
standard  of  our  country,  the  stars  and  stripes,,  and  not  any  regimental 
colors,  placed  on  the  flagstaff  over  the  palace.  While  these  move- 
ments were  going  on  I  saw  the  colors  of  the  rifle  regiment  carried  for- 
ward hy  some  officer  into  the  great  entrance  of  the  palace,  and  before 
I  could  check  the  movement  that  flag  was  waved  for  a  moment  from 
the  balcony  of  the  second  story  of  that  building. 

My  staff  officer  having  selected  Captain  Koberts  to  place  our  na- 
tional colors  over  the  Mexican  jjalace,  that  oflicer  proceeded  immedi- 
ately to  execute  the  duty,  and  used  for  that  purpose  the  small  flag 
alluded  to.  When  this  symbol  of  our  country's  dominion  over  the 
enemy's  capitol  was  run  up  and  floated  proudly  from  its  staff,  arms 
were  presented  by  the  whole  line,  salutes  offered  by  the  officers,  and 
regimental  colors  lowered. 

The  small  flag  in  question  remained  floating  for  about  half  an  hour, 
when  General  Worth,  who  had  advanced  from  the  St.  Cosme  road  to 
the  Alameda,  had  the  kindness  to  send  me  a  larger  stand  of  national 
colors  ;  the  same  which,  I  understood,  had  floated  over  Fort  Brown, 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  while  its  small  but  gallant  garrison  were  besieged 
there  awaiting  the  return  of  General -Taylor.  This  flag,  from  its  size 
being  better  suited  to  that  proud  position,  was  then,  by  my  orders, 
substituted  for  the  smaller  flag,  and  remained  floating  over  the  palace 
until  a  new  large  stand  of  colors,  made  by  the  fair  hands  of  American 
ladies  in  Mexico,  was,  by  my  orders,  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
]S(aylor,  of  the  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  who  had  acted  most  gallantly 
at  the  Garita^  and  been  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  national  pa- 
lace, planted  on  the  capitol  and  there  floated  in  triumph,  until  the 
capital  was  evacuated  by  our  troops  on  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

Very  respectfullv,  vour  obedient  servant, 

J.  A.  QUITMAN. 

The  ClIAIRMAIs^ 

Of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs, 


Washington,  January  28,  1856. 
Gentlemen  :  In  compliance  with  the  request  of  your  committee,  as 
conveyed  to  me  by  your  clerk,  J.  F.  Callan,  Esq.,  in  his  note  of  the 
loth  instant,  with  the  accompanying  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  the 
letter  of  Colonel  B.  S.  Roberts,  that  I  would  communicate  any  know- 
ledge I  may  have  of  the  facts  connected  with  the  planting  of  the  Ame- 
rican flag  upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico,  I  have  the  honor  to  make  the 
following  statement :  I  commanded  the  rifle  regiment,  which  was  a 
part  of  the  brigade  of  General  Smith  and  of  the  division  of  General 
Quitman,  m  the  attack  upon  Chepultepec  and  the  batteries  leadino;  to 
the  Garita  Belen  by  the  Tacubaya  causeway,  on  the  13th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1847.  The  brigade  was  prolonged  on  the  right  and  rear  of 
the  division,  the  rifles  on  the  right  of  the  brigade,  and  advanced  to- 
wards the  aqueduct,  in  the  direction  of  the  foot  of  the  hill,  near  wliere 


COLONEL   LORINg'S    STATEMENT.  1  i 

the  aqueduct  leaves  it.  Here  were  the  principal  batteries  of  the  ene- 
•my  on  this  side  of  Chepultepec,  reJened  to  in  the  different  reports  of 
the  general  officers  engaged.  This  movement  also  brought  tlie  rifles 
to  the  right  of  the  storming  party  of  Quitman's  division.  In  the  final 
attack  upon  these  batteries  the  rifles  were  engaged  in  company  with 
the  stormers.  As  far  as  could  be  seen  along  the  line,  there  appeared 
a  general  and  combined  movement,  so  rapid  and  enthusiastic  that  it 
w^as  difficult  to  distinguish  individual  acts  of  gallantry,  or  the  display 
of  flags  from  batteries  or  breastworks.  I  saw  no  flag  planted  during 
the  charge.  The  rifle  flag  accompanied  the  regiment,  and  upon  it, 
after  the  charge,  the  rifles  formed  at  the  base  of  Chepultepec  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  Mexicans,  or  to  capture  them  and  beat  back  the 
enemy's  force  then  flring  upon  us  from  the  causeway.  At  this  point 
I  noticed  Lieutenant  Stuart  and  a  large  portion  of  the  storming  party, 
which  had  been  detailed  from  the  rifles  for  that  duty.  At  the  fall  of 
Chepultepec  it  was  expected  that  the  stormers  would  join  their  regi- 
ment, and  those  Avho  did  so,  as  a  matter  of  course,  became  a  part  of 
my  command,  and  were  with  the  rest  of  the  regiment  in  its  charge 
upon  the  next  battery,  about  half  way  between  Chepultepec  and  the 
city.  Soon  after  reaching  the  aqueduct  General  Quitman  instructed 
me  to  move  forward  upon  the  causeway,  in  the  direction  of  the  next 
battery.  In  our  advance  movements  from  here,  I  frequently  received 
instructions  from  this  general  in  person,  before  which  all  orders  had 
come  to  me  from  General  Smith. — (See  report  of  General  Smith,  dated 
city  of  Mexico,  September  19,  1847.)  The  rifles  charged  and  carried 
the  middle  battery  by  storm  ;  I  saw  no  flag  planted,  but  saw  that  of 
the  rifles  immediately  after  it  had  passed  the  battery  in  the  charge. 
I  saw  every  individual  who  had  passed  over  the  breastwork  before  me, 
and  had  there  been  a  flag  planted,  up  to  this  time,  I  should  have  seen 
it.  Had  it  occurred,  the  honor  would  have  belonged  to  the  rifles,  as 
this  regiment  was  in  advance  when  the  battery  was  carried. 

From  this  point  the  rifles  Iq  advance  continued  a  rapid  pursuit  of 
the  retreating  column  to  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  from  the  Garita  Belen,  and  about  one  mile  from  Chepultepec. 
A  large  force  of  the  enemy  was  here  discovered  approaching  on  our 
right,  under  cover  of  some  houses,  for  the  purpose  of  outflanking  us. 
The  rifle  regiment  was  here  halted  to  await  supporting  forces,  and  an 
officer  was  sent  to  General  Smith  with  information  of  the  movement 
of  the  flanking  party.  The  rifle  regiment  held  this  force  in  check, 
although  exposed  to  their  fire  and  that  of  the  battery  at  the  Garita, 
until  Drum's  battery  opened  upon  them.  It  was  immediately  after 
that,  being  at  the  head  of  my  regiment,  I  was  joined  by  General 
Quitnoan,  who  w^as  in  the  act  of  giving  me  instructions,  when  I  lost 
an  arm  by  a  shot  from  the  Garita  Belen,  and  was  carried  to  the  rear 
by  order  of  that  general.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  officers 
who  were  with  the  regiment  in  its  operations  :  Captains  John  S. 
Simonson,  Andrew  Porter,  J.  B.  Backenstor,  S.  Tucker,  Lieutenants 
George  McLane,  K.  M.  Morris,  J.  P.  Hatch,  G.  Granger,  J.  N. 
Pahner,  Alfred  Gibbs,  James  Stuart,  and  F.  Russell.  Captain  George 
B.  Crittenden  joined  from  detached  service  soon  after  the  middle  bat- 
tery was  carried. 


18  MAJOR  Crittenden's  statement. 

I  have  endeavored,  as  briefly  as  possible,  to  relate  to  you  my  obser- 
vations on  that  day  in  connexion  with  the  subject  of  your  inquiry,  in 
doing  which  I  have  been  obliged,  with  some  degree  of  detail,  to  enter 
into  the  movements  of  my  regiment,  with  which  I  acted  throughout. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,'  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  LORINQ, 
Brevet  Colonel  TJ.  S.  Army. 
To  the  honorable  the  Committee  on*  Military  Affairs 

Of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 


Washington  City,  D.  C,  January  28,  1856. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  communi- 
cation from  your  clerk,  enclosing  a  resolution  of  the  Senate,  and  a  copy 
of  the  letter  of  Captain  B.  S.  Roberts,  of  the  rifles,  in  which  I  am 
requested  to  communicate  to  the  committee  any  knowledge  I  may  have 
of  the  ^'facts''  connected  with  the  planting  of  the  American  flag  upon 
the  capitol  of  Mexico. 

Few  words  will  suffice  to  convey  to  you  my  knowledge  of  the  facts 
connected  with  that  event.  On  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  September, 
1847,  I,  then  a  captain  in  the  regiment  of  mounted  riflemen,  was  de- 
tached with  my  company  on  a  special  duty,  and  did  not  again  join  the 
regiment  on  the  13th,  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Chepultepec,  and  of  the 
attack  upon  the  city  of  Mexico,  until  Chepultepec,  the  five  gun-battery 
at  its  base,  and  the  battery  half  way  between  it  and  the  Garita  Belen 
had  been  carried.  From  this  point  the  rifle  regiment,  commanded  and 
led  by  our  gallant  Major,  now  Colonel,  Loring,  and  forming  the  head 
of  General  Quitman's  division,  to  which  it  had  been  assigned  prepar- 
atory to  the  attack  upon  Chepultepec,  continued  to  advance  along  the 
arches  of  the  aqueduct  towards  the  Grarita  Belen,  until  we  reached  a 
point,  where  the  enemy,  from  some  huts  which  they  occupied  on  the 
right  of  the  acqueduct,  obtained  a  flank  fire  upon  us.  Here  the  regi- 
ment was  halted,  whilst  two  pieces  of  artillery,  commanded  by  Captain 
Drum,  advanced  from  the  rear  and  were  placed  ''in  battery''  against 
the  huts.  About  this  time,  Colonel  Loring,  whilst  in  consultation 
with  General  Quitman,  at  the  head  of  the  column,  Avas  badly  wounded 
and  borne  from  the  field,  thus  devolving  upon  me,  as  next  in  rank, 
there  present,  the  command  of  the  regiment  of  riflemen,  of  which  fact 
I  informed  General  Quitman,  upon  his  inquiry,  and  received  orders 
accordingly.  The  enemy  were  soon  driven  from  the  huts  on  our  right, 
when  Captain  Drum's  guns  were  turned  upon  the  Garita  Belen,  and 
the  advance  again  commenced.  The  enemy  being  observed  to  waver 
at  the  Garita  battery,  a  simultaneous  rush  was  made  from  the  length' 
of  the  arches  and  the  Garita  was  carried.  General  Quitman  was  here, 
as  elsewhere,  on  that  day,  conspicuous  for  his  gallantry.  A  short  time 
after  crossing  the  Garita,  my  attention  was  drawn  to  a  flag  displayed 
from  the  Garita  battery,  which  I  then  understood,  and  now  believe  to 
have  been  the  flag  of  the  South  Carolina  regiment.     I  have  no  recollec- 


19 

tion  of  seeing  any  other  flag  displayed  from  there.  My  own  impression 
is,  that  when  this  flag  was  displayed  from  the  hattery,  the  flag  of  the 
rifle  regiment  had  already  been'borne  across  the  Garita  on  the  left  of 
the  aqueduct,  and  into  a  stone  building,  the  custom-house,  on  the  city 
side  of  it,  which  the  rifle  regiment  occupied  after  crossing.  We  con- 
tinued in  possession  of  the  position  which  Ave  had  gained  at  the  Garita, 
under  a  heavy  fire  and  with  considerable  loss,  until  the  morning  of 
the  14th,  when  a  little  after  daylight,  the  enemy  sent  to  General 
Quitman  a  white  flag,  stating  that  the  Mexican  army  had,  during  the 
night,  withdrawn  from  the  city.  General  Quitman  immediately 
formed  his  division — the  rifle  regiment  in  advance — and  marched  for- 
ward as  far  as  the  citadel,  where  we  w^ere  halted,  when  I  asked,  and 
obtained  of  General  Quitman,  permission  to  plant  the  flag  of  my  regi- 
ment upon  the  citadel.  It  was  according  sent  and  displayed  from 
there,  and  I  think  was  the  only  one  so  displayed,  during  our  halt 
there  of  about  half  an  hour.  Again  w^e  advanced — the  rifle  regiment 
at  the  head  of  the  column — upon  the  grand  plaza.  Before  reaching  it 
I  gave  directions  that,  upon  our  arrival  there  the  flag  of  the  regiment 
should  be  detached,  and,  if  possible,  displayed  from  the  palace,  which 
ironts  upon  the  plaza.  Accordingly,  shortly  after  we  reached  the 
plaza,  the  flag  of  the  regiment  was  displayed  from  the  palace,  when 
General  Smith  approached  and  censured  me  for  having  allowed  the 
flag  to  leave  the  regiment,  remarking  that  the  national  flag  should 
have  been  first  displayed.  The  regimental  flag  was  immediately 
recalled  and  replaced  by  the  national  flag. 

These  are  all  the  facts  of  which  I  am  cognizant^  connected  with  the 
planting  of  the  first  American  flag  upon  the  capitol  of  Mexico. 
With  much  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

G.  B.  CRITTENDEN, 
Major  Regiment  Mounted  Rifles. 

To  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 

Military  Affairs  of  the   United  States  Senate. 


Washington,  D.  C,  February  26,  1856. 

Sir  :  Complying  with  the  request  of  your  committee,  communicated 
to  me  through  your  clerk,  accompanied  by  a  resolution  of  the  Senate, 
and  a  copy  of  the  letter  of  Captain  B.  S.  Roberts,  of  the  rifles,  I  have 
the  honor  to  communicate  to  you  such  facts  as  fell  under  my  observa- 
tion, connected  with  the  raising  of  flags  ^t  the  battle  of  Chepul tepee, 
the  storming  of  the  intervening  batteries  between  that  place  and  the 
Garita  de  Belen,  at  the  Garita,  and  within  the  city  of  Mexico. 

My  command,  the  2d  Pennsylvania  regiment,  composed,  with  the 
battallion  of  marines,  the  2d  brigade  of  Major  General  Quitman's 
division .  With  the  exception  of  one  company,  commanded  by  Captain 
James  Miller,  which  was  temporarily  detached  and  placed  in  that 
portion  of  the  storming  party  commanded  by  Major  Twiggs,  and 
fifteen  men  and  one  commissioned  ofiicer,  who,  upon  requisition,  vol- 
unteered from  the  other  companies,  composed  part  of  the  command  of 


r^C 


20  COLONEL    GEARY'S    STATEMENT. 

Captain  Reynolds,  to  bear,  in  aid  of  tlie  storming  parties,  scaling 
ladders,  axes,  &c.  Of  these  fifteen,  ten  were  either  killed  or  severely 
wounded.  My  regiment  moved,  nnder  orders  communicated  to  me 
personally  by  General  Quitman,  Avith  General  Shields'  brigade,  from 
our  ]iosition  in  advance  of  Tacul3aya,  almost  in  a  direct  line  across  the 
marshy  fields  in  front  of  the  castle  of  Chepultepec.  This  charge  was 
a  sort  of  Lodi  affair,  our  troops  being  Avithin  the  range  of  every  gun 
upon  the  south  side  of  the  castle  and  of  the  batteries  at  its  base.  Wlien 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  wall,  I  was  struck  with  a  ball,  which  caused 
a  severe  and  painful  contusion.  Upon  reaching  the  outer  wall  I 
directed  i\iy  regiment  to  proceed  around  the  left  of  the  wall  under  the 
temporary  command  of  Major  (afterwards  Lieutenant  Colonel)  Brindle, 
who  gallantly  led  it  into  the  castle,  where  I  joined  it  again,  and 
resumed  the  command  before  the  American  flag  was  raised  upon  the 
main  flag-staff  of  the  castle.  Upon  several  parts  of  the  fortress  I 
observed  a  number  of  flags  belonging  to  different  corps  of  the  army, 
amongst  which  was  one  belonging  to  a  company  of  my  own  regiment. 
Owing  to  the  haste  with  which  it  was  organized  and  embarked  for 
Mexico,  my  command  was  not  at  that  time  supplied  with  regimental 
colors,  consequently  a  flag,  which  belonged  to  one  of  the  companies, 
was  used  by  the  regiment  when  required.  The  first  flag  which  entered 
the  five-gun  battery  at  the  base  of  Chepultepec,  was  that  which  was 
carried  by  the  assaulting  party  wdiich  stormed  the  work,  and  I  have 
no  -doubt  but  that  it  was  tliefiag  in  question. 

General  Quitman  having  previously  communicated  to  me  his  de- 
sign of  attacking  the  Garita  de  Belen  immediately  after  the  capture 
of  Chepultepec,  and. being  myself  desirous  to  expedite  his  intentions, 
I  formed  my  command  instantly  while  inside  of  the  walls  of  the  cas- 
tle, and  marched  out,  I  believe,  the  first  body  of  men  which  left  the 
fortress  ;  and  while  the  regiment  was  descending  the  hill  towards  the 
city,  the  commander-in-chief  waa  ascending  to  the  castle.  After  be- 
ing replenished  with  ammunition  at  the  gate  of  the  fortress,  near  the 
five-gun  battery,  we  passed  on  with  the  column  under  the  command 
of  General  Quitman,  who  at  all  times  was  with  its  front,  to  tlie  attack 
of  the  battery  midway  upon  the  causeway  between  Chepultepec  and 
the  Garita  de  Belen.  At  that  place  I  did  not  see  any  flag  raised,  nor 
do  I  think  any  was  planted  there,, but  if  there  had  been,  that  honor 
could  certainly  have  been  obtained  by  the  rifles,  as  that  regiment  Avas 
slightly  in  the  advance,  but  owing  to  the  celerity  of  the  movements 
of  the  different  commands,  and  the  enthusiasm  and  emulation  which 
prevailed  amongst  them,  bat  a  very  brief  period  elapsed  between  their 
arrival  at  the  same  points,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  to  distinguish  individual  acts  of  gallantry  from  those  in 
which  the  whole  division  sliared  equally.  I  cannot  forbear  to  men- 
tion the  fact,  that,  at  this  battery,  I  saw  General  Shields,  and 
although  lie  was  severely  wounded,  as  the  troops  passed  him,  he 
cheered  them  ''  onward  to  a  glorious  victory." 

Having  passed  that  battery  and  re-organized  his  division,  General 
Quitman  ordered  its  advance  upon  the  Garita  de  Belen,  and  it  moved 
steadily  forward,  under  a  terrible  cannonade  from  the  Garita,  the 
citadel,  and  the  surrounding  batteries,  along  the  blood-stained  cause- 


COLONEL  Geary's  statement.  21 

way,  until  we  arrived  at  a  point  where  we  received  a  flank  fire  from 
the  enemy,  who  were  sheltered  by  a  number  of  houses  on  the  riglit  of 
the  aqueduct;  there  was  also,  in  addition  to  the  severe  fire  of  artillery 
maintaineclf  upon  the  front  of  our  column,  a  galling  fire  of  musketry 
from  about  five  thousand  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  stationed  in  the 
citadel  and  upon  the  Paseo  inside  of  the  walls  of  the  city  on  our  left. 
There  the  column  halted  until  two  pieces  of  artillery,  under  Captain 
Drum,  were  brought  forward  and  placed  in  battery  against  the  houses 
on  the  right,  from  the  shelter  of  which  the  enemy  were  soon  driven. 
The  final  charge  was  then  made,  and  after  a  sanguinary  struggle  the 
Garita  was  captured.  Immediately  upon  its  capture,  I  saw  the  gal- 
lant commander  of  our  division  waving  a  handkerchief,  fixed  upon  a 
rifle,  from  the  parapet  of  the  gate.  After  many  of  the  troops  had 
arrived  within  the  walls,  General  Quitman  announced  the  fact 
tliat  we  were  then  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  were  the  first  American 
troops  who  had  passed  its  ramparts.  Standing  near  the  general  at 
that  moment,  he  asked  General  Smith  and  myself  to  note  the  time, 
wliich  was  tioenty  minutes  past  one  o'clock,  p.  m.,  and  then  he  re- 
marked, "whoever  survives  the  action  should  remember  that  fact.'' 
Previous  to  this  time  I  had  observed  no  colors  raised  at  the  Garita; 
General  Quitman  then  called  for  colors,  which  he  was  desirous  to  have 
raised  as  a  symbol  of  victory  over  the  Garita,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
other  portions  of  the  American  army.  Lieutenant  Selleck,  of  the  Pal- 
metto regiment^  then  acting  as  one  of  the  general's  staff  officers, 
brought  forward  the  colors  of  that  regiment,  and  with  the  assistance 
of  Captain  Charles  Naylor,  of  my  regiment,  placed  them  above  the 
aqueduct  in  the  Garita;  while  holding  the  flag  in  that  position 
Lieutenant  Selleck  was  severely  wounded.  This  was  on  the  right  of  the 
afj^ueduct.  I  did  not  see  any  other  flag  regularly  raised  there  during 
the  afternoon  of  that  day.  The  rifle  regiment  occupied  a  stone  build- 
ing on  the  left  of  the  aqueduct — the  custom-house  for  that  side  of  the 
city.  I  was  afterwards  informed  some  colors  were  there  displayed, 
but  I  cannot  say  at  what  time.  It  is  proper  to  remark  that  after  the 
taking  of  the  Garita,  some  of  the  guns  there  captured  were  turned 
on  the  enemy  by  Captain  Drum,  (4th  artillery,)  and  when  many  of 
his  company  had  fallen,  their  ranks  were  in  part  filled  by  men  from 
my  command,  who  worked  the  pieces  until  that  gallant  officer  was 
killed  at  the  side  of  his  guns.  During  the  afternoon,  while  we  lay 
under  the  fire  of  about  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  a  severe  dis- 
charge of  musketry,  several  daring  and  bold  attempts  were  made  by 
the  enemy  to  sally  from  their  strong  fortifications  and  drive  us  from 
our  position  inside  the  Garita,  partially  sheltered  by  a  number  of  or- 
namental trees  and  a  few  dilapidated  walls;  but  they  were  repulsed 
with  great  loss  on  their  part,  and  several  of  their  batteries  were 
silenced.  In  this  latter  service  Captains  Loesier,  Naylor,  Humphreys 
and  Taylor,  of  my  command,  were  signally  distinguished.  No  time 
was  lost  on  the  part  of  General  Quitman,  who  had  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight^  in  making  preparations 
for  assaulting  the  citadel  U])on  the  morning  of  the  14th.  Several  bat- 
teries were  erected  by  us  during  the  night,  and  the  forces  under  his 
command  were  assigned  to  their  particular  duties — mine  to  assist  in 


22  COLONEL 

the  erection  of  the  batteries,  to  protect  our  right  from  attack  during 
the  night  on  the  Piedad  road,  and  to  command  the  storming  party  on 
the  left  in  the  contemplated  attack  of  the  citadel  in  the  morning. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  September,  when  everything 
was  in  readiness,  and  every  corps  awaiting  orders  to  storm  the  citadel. 
a  white  flag  was  sent  from  that  fortress  to  Greneral  Quitman,  the 
bearers  of  which  gave  information  to  him  that  the  city  was  being 
evacuated  by  the  Mexican  troops ;  whereupon  General  Quitman  imme- 
diately formed  his  division  and  marched  into  the  city,  where  our  na- 
tional flag  was  first  displayed  upon  the  palace  of  Mpxico  by  Ms  orders, 
having  first  left  the  South  Carolina  regiment  in  possession  of  the  Ga- 
rita  de  Belen,  and  assigned  the  second  Pennsylvania  regiment,  under 
my  command,  for  the  garrison  of  the  citadel,  a  place  of  great  strength 
and  importance,  with  orders  to  put  it,  without  delay,  in  a  condition 
for  defence,  and  be  as  vigilant  as  though  in  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  enemy,  adding  ''that  upon  the  preservation  of  this  stronghold 
might  depend  the  safety  of  the  whole  command."  I  have  no  recol- 
lection of  seeing  any  flag  placed  upon  the  citadel  before  the  one  in 
possession  of  my  regiment  was  placed  there,  which  was  done  as  soon 
as  I  received  orders  to  occupy  that  fortress. 

In  the  attack  and  capture  of  the  castle  of  Chepultepec  and  the  city 
of  Mexico,  the  breast  of  every  one  engaged  in  those  unequal  and  ter- 
rible encounters  was  almost  equally  exposed^  the  shot  and  other  mis- 
siles of  the  enemy  often  falling  with  more  dire  effect  upon  those  mid- 
way and  in  the  rear  of  the  attacking  columns  than  upon  those  in 
front.  So  many  were  conspicuous  for  their  gallantry  and  good  con- 
duct, that  it  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  difiicult  to  discriminate  between 
them,  inasmuch  as  the  signal  successes  of  that  day  resulted  from  the 
combined  force  of  the  whole  column  that  participated  in  that  stern 
contest  which  terminated  so  gloriously,  and  shed  unfading  lustre  upon 
American  arms,  in  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  Successes  of 
individual  gallantry  are  often  but  the  results  of  the  combined  action 
of  the  whole  army.  Honor  sufiicient  was  obtained  to  satisfy  the  am- 
bition of  any  reasonable  man  who  participated  in  those  brilliant  vic- 
tories, and  in  which  the  gallant  dead^  whose  blood  enriches  the  soil, 
and  whose  bones  whiten  the  plains  of  Mexico,  should  most  largely 
share,  for  without  them  we  could  not  have  succeeded. 

I  have  the  hon6r  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JNO.'  W.  GEARY, 
Late  Colonel  Second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 

Hon.  John  B.  Weller, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 


Washington,  D.  C,  Jamtary  21,  185G. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  letter,  sent 
by  direction  of  the  committee,  requesting  such  information  as  I  may 
possess  in  relation  to  the  planting  of  the  American  flag  upon  the 
palace  of  the  capitol  of  Mexico,  &c.,  and  enclosing  a  copy  of  a  letter 
from  Colonel  B.  S.  Roberts,  of  the  rifles,  to  General  Twiggs  ;  as  also 


CAPTAIN   LOVELL^S   STATEMENT.  23- 

a  copy  of  a  proposed  Senate  resolution  ''that  an  engrossed  copy  of 
said  letter  be  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State  with  the  flag 
whose  history  it  gives,  and  which  has  already  been  deposited  in  said 
department  by  order  of  the  Senate." 

During  the  occurrence  of  the  events  alluded  to  in  the  above  men- 
tioned letter,  Colonel  Eoberts  was  under  the  command  of  Major 
General  J.  A.  Quitman,  and  as  I  was  the  chief  of  staif  to  this  officer,, 
and  an  eye-witness  to  most  of  the  transactions  which  took  place,  I 
feel  competent  to  give  an  accurate  account  of  the  whole  affair. 

Greneral  Quitman's  command  during  these  events  consisted  of 
Smith's  brigade  of  regulars,  the  volunteer  division,  in  which  was  in- 
cluded the  battalion  of  marines,  the  9th  infantry  of  Pierce's  brigade, 
and  a  part  of  the  6th  infantry.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1847,  the 
day  previous  to  the  storming  of  Chepultepec,  a  detachment  of  250 
men  from  Greneral  Twiggs'  division  was  reported  to  General  Quitman 
for  duty  as  stormers.  In  this  temporarily  organized  battalion,  com- 
manded by  Captain  S.  Casey,  2d  infantry.  Captain  Roberts'  company 
acted  as  "the  color  company,"  the  colors  being  the  small  American 
flag  referred  to,  and  which  it  was  understood  had  been  in  the  posses- 
sion of  General  Twiggs. 

On  the  13th  of  September  this  battalion,  in  connexion  with  a  bat- 
talion from  the  volunteer  division,  performed  its  duty  gallantly  in  the 
assault  upon  the  work  at  the  base  of  Chepultepec,  its  commander 
(Casey)  being  wounded,  and  the  command  then  devolving  upon  Cap- 
tain Paul,  Tth  infantry. — (See  General  Quitman's  report  of  these 
operations.) 

I  have  no  recollection  of  the  planting  of  any  flag  upon  that  work, 
but  little  attention  being  attracted  to  it,  as  the  raising  of  our  colors 
upon  Chepultepec  itself  superseded  and  rendered  unnecessary  the 
raising  of  particular  flags  upon  the  adjuncts  of  that  great  work. 

The  different  detachments  composing  this  battalion  of  stormers  then 
joined  their  respective  regiments,  and  the  command  proceeded  to  the 
assault  of  the  various  batteries  between  it  and  the  citadel  of  Mexico.  I 
do  not  recollect  seeing  Captain  Roberts  or  ''the  flag"  again  through- 
out that  day.  He  says  in  his  letter  that  he  was  "detained  to  guard 
the  prisoners  taken  at  the  five-gun  battery." 

'No  flag  was  planted  upon  the  battery  between  Chepultepec  and  the 
Garita,  the  troops  in  advance  sweeping  over  it  without  halting,  it 
being  merely  a  point  in  our  main  progress.  Nor  was  "this  flag"  the 
first  planted  upon  the  batteries  at  the  Garita,  or  on  the  citadel  of 
Mexico.  Colonel  Roberts  was  certainly  misinformed  in  regard  to  these 
transactions. 

A  handkerchief  Avrved  by  General  Quitman  was  the  first  symbol  of 
victory  at  the  bloody  Garita,  and  a  call  by  the  general  for  colors  was 
answered  by  Lieutenant  Selleck,  of  the  South  Carolina  regiment,  (since 
dead,)  who,  in  placing  the  colors  of  his  regiment  upon  the  Garita, 
received  a  severe  wound.  I  have  understood  that  the  rifle  colors  were 
displayed  much  about  the  same  time  on  the  other  side  of  the  aqueduct, 
'but  I  did  not  see  them. 

On  the  following  morning  (the  enemy  having  evacuated  the  city 
during  the  night)  we  marched  into  the  citadel  at  daybreak.     The 


24  CAPTAIN  lovell's  ftatement. 

column  was  halted  a  feAv  moments,  and  the  2d  Pennsylvania  regiment 
(Colonel  Geary)  was  detailed  to  occupy  this  fortress  as  its  garrison. 
Whilst  this  was  being  done,  Captain  Crittenden,  of  the  rifles,  applied 
for  and  received  permission  from  General  Quitman  to  run  up  the  rifle 
regiment  flag  for  a  few  moments  over  this  strong  citadel. 

The  column  under  General  Quitman's  command  then  moved  on  to 
the  grand  plaza  (the  rifles  in  advance)  where  it  was  halted.  The 
troops,  in  column  of  companies,  were  in  the  position  of  '^  ordered 
arms,"  and  at  a  ^' parade  rest"  occupying  two  sides  of  the  square  in 
front  of  the  palace. 

After  remaining  a  few  moments  in  this  position,  General  Quitman 
directed  me  to  have  our  colors  placed  on  the  flag-staff"  over  the  palace, 
saying,  ''let  it  he  our  national  colors,  the  stars  and  stripes,  not  the 
particuhar  colors  of  any  regiment."  Looking  along  the  line,  I  ob- 
served but  two  national  flags,  one  of  which  was  w^ith  the  New  York 
regiment,  at  the  further  end  of  the  line,  the  other  much  nearer  to  me, 
with  Captain  Koberts'  company  of  the  rifles.  I  told  him  to  have  this 
flag  put  up  on  the  staff  above  the  palace,  and  he  proceeded  at  once 
with  a  file  of  men  to  do  so,  in  obedience  to  the  order  received  from 
the  general  through  myself. 

While  he  was  thus  engaged  the  troops  were  wheeled  into  line, 
officers  ordered  to  the  front,  and  when  the  flag  was  raised,  arms  were 
presented  by  command  of  General  Quitman  in  person. 

The  above  is  the  simple  history  of  this  transaction,  and  it  would 
seem  to  me^  that  according  to  all  military  rule  and  precedent,  what- 
ever of  credit  or  honor  may  be  held  to  attach  to  the  ceremony  above 
narrated  J  is  due  to  the  senior  officer  (as  representing  his  command) 
under  whose  immediate  orders  and  direct  personal  supervision  the 
whole  transaction  took  place.  On  this  point  I  coincide  with  the  views 
expressed  by  Colonel  Koberts  in  the  last  paragraph  of  his  letter  to 
the  editor  of  the  Union,  dated  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  12,  1848. 

I  will  add,  that  just  before  the  national  flag  was  displayed  from  the 
staff",  an  officer  of  the  rifles  waved  the  colors  of  his  regiment  from  the 
balcony  of  the  second  story  windows  of  the  palace,  a  circumstance 
which  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  the  general  commanding  the 
division. 

I  remain,  with  much  respect,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  LOYELL. 

The  Chairman 

Of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 


Washington,  D.  C,  February  26,  1856. 
Gentlemen  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
clerk's  communication  of  the  15th  ultimo,  enclosing  a  copy  of  Captain 
Eoberts'  letter  to  General  Twiggs  of  the  ITth  September,  1847,  and 
a  resolution  of  the  Senate,  and  concluding  with  the  request  that  I 
^'^  will  communicate  to  you  any  knowledge  I  may  have  of  the  plant- 
ing of  the  American  flag  upon  the  palace  of  Mexico,"  &c. 


CAPTAIN    NAYLOR'S    STATEMENT.  25 

As  captain  of  company  F,  second  regiment  of  Pennsylvania  volun- 
teers, I  participated  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico  and  in  most  of  the  spe- 
cific movements  to  which  the  letter  of  Captain  Roberts  refers.  I 
might  reply  to  your  communication  by  stating  that  I  saw,  upon  the 
days  covering  the  occasions  spoken  of  by  Captain  Roberts,  no  Ameri- 
can— that  is  to  say^  no  national — flag  anywhere,  either  raised  or  un- 
raised,  so  far  as  I  can  remember.  But  as  this  would  not  properly 
answer  your  inquiry,  nor  do  justice  to  the  subject,  I  have  no  alterna- 
tive other  than  to  state,  as  briefly  as  possible,  what  did  take  place,  so 
far  as  I  saw,  and  can  remember  or  have  knowledge. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  September,  1847,  the  assault  was 
made  on  the  castle  (as  it  was  termed)  and  works  of  Chepul tepee.  I 
belonged  to  the  division  of  Major  General  Quitman,  and  moved  witll 
my  command,  on  the  right  of  my  regiment,  from  the  village  of  Tacu- 
baya,  along  the  main  road  leading  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  some  dis- 
tance, where  we  received  directions  from  General  Quitman  to  diverge 
from  the  road,  cross  the  meadows  directly  in  front  of  the  castle,  and 
move,  with  all  possible-  dispatch,  against  the  works  of  the  enemy. 
The  order  was  given  us  by  the  general  personally,  in  the  midst  of  a 
very  severe  fire,  he  pointing  out  to  us  with  his  sword  the  place  where 
he  wished  us  to  strike  the  outer  work  of  the  enemy. 

In  executing  the  order  we  were  obliged  to  wade  through  a  succes- 
sion of  ditches  upwards  of  five  feet  in  depth,  filled  with  water,  and 
from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  width.  Upon  gaining  the  wall  of  the  works 
we  (the  Pennsylvania,  South  Carolina,  and  New  York  regiments)  re- 
formed our  commands,  scaled  the  wall,  pushed  up  the  hill,  and,  in 
conjunction  Avith  the  other  assaulting  troops,  stormed  the  inner  works 
and  took  the  castle.  In  doing  this  we  were  intermingled  with  a  part 
of  the  command  of  Major  General  Pillow,  the  oflicers  and  men  of  the 
two  divisions  (Quitman's  and  Pillow's)  struggling  together  as  if  in 
the  same  ranks. 

The  works  being  taken,  the  troops  of  the  diflerent  commands  were 
commingled  together  in  great  confusion,  and  there  was  great  exulta- 
tion among  them.  An  order  from  General  Quitman  to  re-form  was 
received  and  instantly  carried  into  efiect.  Two  men  from  each  com- 
pany were  then  detailed  to  look  after  and  take  care  of  the  wounded, 
and  our  (Quitman's)  line  was  in  readiness  for  the  next  movement. 

At  this  moment  occurred  the  first  flag-raising  of  the  day.  A  con- 
fused mass  of  troops  were  assembled  in  the  spacious  area  fronting  and 
adjoining  the  castle,  and  at  one  of  the  windows,  in  the  second  story, 
Gen.  Cadwallader  appeared  and  commenced  a  speech  to  the  troops  in 
front  of  him.  Whilst  he  was  speaking,  some  one  displayed  from  the  same 
window  a  flag.  This  was  the  first  flag  of  any  description  I  had  seen 
that  day.  It  was  not  an  American  fiag,  not  the  national  flag,  not  the 
flag  of  the  Union,  but  a  flag,  as  I  suppose,  of  one  of  the  regiments  or 
of  one  of  the  States.  It  was  .almost  immediately  taken  in  from  the 
window,  and  in  a  few  minutes  thereafter  was  waved  from  the  roof  of 
the  castle.  An  attempt  was  then  made  to  run  it  up  the  flagstaff,  but 
before  it  was  raised,  and  whilst  General  Cadwallader  was  still  speaking. 
General  Quitman's  command  was  ordered  to  march — the  word  was, 
^^  Quitman's  division  to  the  city" — and  we  moved,  at  once  and  rapidly, 
3 


26  CAPTAIN    NAYLOR^S    STATEMENT. 

down  the  hill  of  Chepultepec,  along  the  main  causeAvay  towards  the 
city  of  Mexico,  leaving  the  castle  behind  lis.  In  this  movement  the 
five-gun  hatter}^,  mentioned  in  Captain  Eoherts'  letter^  was  left  on 
our  right ;  and  as  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  assault  upon  that 
battery,  and  had  no  official  connexion  with  it  afterw^ards,  I  have  no 
knowledge  whatever  of  any  kind  about  the  raising  of  a  flag  over  it. 

Continuing  our  movement  rapidly  along  the  causeway  leading  to 
the  Belen  gate  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  covering  ourselves  as  well  as  we 
could  from  a  very  severe  fire  by  the  arches  of  the  aqueduct,  we 
assaulted  the  intermediate  battery  (mentioned  in  Captain  Roberts'  let- 
ter) between  Chepultepec  and  the  city  gate.  This  was  taken,  and  we 
passed  through  it  and  over  it,  but  I  saw  no  flag  raised  there,  nor  was 
there  any  attempt  to  raise  one  there,  so  far  as  I  ever  heard  or  had  or 
have  any  knowledge. 

From  this  intermediate  battery,  as  it  is  termed  in  Captain  Roberts' 
letter,  elated  with  success  and  inspired  with  a  spirit  of  generous 
rivalry,  the  troops  pressed  onwards  to  the  city.  In  no  part  of  the  war 
had  I  before  witnessed  a  charge  so  impetuous  and  througli  a  fire  so 
severe  and  destructive.  The  officers  and  men  of  the  different  com- 
mands, soon  began  to  intermingle,  each  putting  forth  his  whole 
strength  to  be  foremost.  The  gate  was  reached.  General  Quitman 
leading,  leaped  the  ditch,  mounted  the  breastwork,  and  waved  his 
handkerchief,  followed  by  as  many  of  his  command  as  couhl  press 
themselves  to  the  point.  The  position  was  taken,  and  the  capital  of 
Mexico  was  at  that  moment  esteemed  ours.  General  Persiier  Smith, 
I  remember  well,  pulled  out  his  watch  and  coolly  remarking  that  we 
were,  now  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  announced  the  hour  and  the  minute. 

The  city  had  been  taken  at  its  strongest  point,  where  it  had  been 
supposed  impregnable,  and  our  position  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  the  citadel,  containing,  it  was  supposed,  nearly  ten  thousand  men, 
anything  but  a  pleasant  one.  The  fire  was  terrific  and  continued 
w^ithout  interruption  ;  and  our  troops  were  immediately  set  to  work  to 
establish  themselves  by  throwing  up  such  cover  as  their  situation  and 
means  would  afford. 

After  we  had  been  there  some  time,  it  was  suggested  that  a  flag 
should  be  raised  to  announce  our  position  and  success  to  the  other  di- 
visions of  the  army.  General  Quitman  ordered  a  flag  to  be  raised  for 
the  purpose.  So  far  as  I  can  remember,  there  was  no  American  flag 
there;  there  was  certainly  none  produced  or  exhibited.  A  young 
officer,  (whose  name,  I  arti  sorry  to  say,  I  do  not  recollect,)  of 
the  South  Carolina  regiment,  brought  forward  the  Palmetto  flag^ 
the  flag  of  his  regiment  and  State,  and  with  two  of  his  men  and 
Lieut.  Wilcox  (of  Quitman's  staff)  clambered  to  the  top  of  a 
little  shed  adjoining  the  aqueduct,  and  upon  the  right  of  the  gate 
as  we  enter  the  city,  and  from  the  top  of  that  little  shed  he  raised 
the  Palmetto  flag  over  the  aqueduct,  and  there  held  it  amid  a  tremen- 
dous fire,  provoked  for  a  time  into  increased  severity  upon  that  point 
by  the  display  of  the  flag.  There  being  no  means  to  secure  the  flag 
in  its  place.  General  Quitman  ordered  it  down ;  but  before  this  could 
be  done  the  gallant  officer  who  had  planted  and  held  it  was  shot.  I 
aided  in  getting  him  down.     One  of  the  two  men  wlio  had  charge  of 


CAPTAIN    NAYLOR'S    STATEMENT.  27 

the  flag  when  his  officer  was  wounded,  was  himself  shot  just  as  he 
leaped  down  from  the  shed,  and  he  fell,  with  the  flag  in  his  hand,  hy 
the  side  of  General  Quitman,  who  was  at  this  time  in  a  greatly  ex- 
posed position,  smoking  a  cigar,  as  was  his  custom, — and  inspiring  the 
breasts  of  all  around  him  with  his  own  cheerful  daring,  unpreten- 
tious heroism,  and  confident  security  of  an  immediate,  glorious,  and 
final  triumph. 

No  event  of  that  day,  with  its  subordinate  surroundings,  is  more 
distinctly  remembered  by  me  than  the  flag-raising  at  the  G-arita  de 
Belen.  There  are  ^many  circumstances,  besides  those  herein  stated, 
fixing  it  so  strongly  and  definitely  upon  my  mind,  that  I  feel  I  cannot 
be  mistaken.  And  it  is  due  to  the  truth  of  history,  since  the  Senate 
have  thought  proper  to  make  it  the  subject  of  inquiry,  that  it  should 
be  accurately  and  definitely  stated  exactly  as  it  took  place.  As  far  as 
my  remembrance  serves  me,  I  have  endeavored  so  to  state  it.  "What- 
ever may  be  the  value  of  the  statement,  in  other  respects,  it  is  certainly 
disinterested. 

I  know  of  no  other  flag  planted  at  the  gate  of  Belen  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1847,  than  the  one  I  have  just  mentioned.  There  certainly 
was  no  American  flag  planted  there  or  visible  there  on  that  day. 

A  fire  of  the  most  destructive  severity  was  continued  upon  us,  without 
intermission,  the  whole  afternoon,  and  the  remaining  strength  of  his 
little  and  fast-diminishing  command  was  sorely  taxed,  under  our  cool, 
cheerful,  indefatigable,  and  most  gallant  general,  in  the  maintenance 
of  his  position  and  the  preparation  for  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
citadel  and  city  at  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning.  In  repelling  our 
enemy's  assaults,  taking  their  batteries  and  assailing  points,  driving 
them  from  all  their  surrounding  positions,  annoying  them  through 
their  embrasures,  filling  up  ditches,  building  up  works  for  final  opera- 
tions, looking  after  the  wounded  thick  falling  around  us,  and  laying 
aside  the  dead  with  such  respect  ^s  circumstances  permitted,  the  after- 
noon passed,  and,  at  night-fall,  the  enemy's  fire  ceased, — but  with  it 
came  no  cessation  of  labor,  nor  one  minutes'  rest. 

During  the  whole  night  of  the  13th  and  14th  of  September,  the 
command  of  General  Quitman  worked  without  interruption,  in  throw- 
ing up  breastworks,  getting  up  guns,  ammunition,  &c.,  preparatory 
for  storming  the  citadel  at  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  14th. 

From  this,  however,  exhausted  as  we  were  by  disease,  hunger,  bat- 
tle, privation,  and  labor  protracted  incessantly  for  days  and  nights 
previous,  we  were  glad  to  be  relieved,  at  the  gray  of  the  dawn  of  the 
morning,  (when  all  our  dispositions  had  been  made  for  the  assault,) 
by  the  appearance  of  two  men,  a  Mexican  commission ,  bearing  a 
white  flag,  and  delivering  to  General  Quitman  the  keys  of  the  citadel, 
and  giving  the  intelligence  of  the  silent  retreat  of  the  enemy,  then 
leaving  the  city. 

Our  general,  having  first  satisfied  himself  that  no  treachery  was 
intended,  and  leaving  the  South  Carolina  regiment  at  the  Garita, 
marched  his  division  into  the  citadel,  and  after  a  brief  halt,  the 
Second  Pennsylvania  regiment  (commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Geary)  to  which  I  belonged,  was  left  to  garrison  the  place.  General 
Quitman  then,  with  the  balance  of  his  command,  marched  into  the 
heart  of  the  city  and  took  possession  of  the  National  palace. 


28  CAPTAIN   NAYLOR'S   STATEMENT. 

The  moment  he  was  assigned  the  honor  of  garrisoning  the  citadel^ 
Colonel  Geary  caused  the  flag  of  his  regiment,  the  Pennsylvania  flag, 
to  he  run  up  on  the  flag-staff.  This  was  the  first  flag,  and  only  flag, 
I  rememher  to  have  seen  raised  over  the  citadel  on  that  day,  and  this 
was  the  flag  of  Pennsylvania.  I  am  certain  that  no  Ainerican  flag 
was  so  raised.  Yet  I  have  some  indistinct  recollection  of  seeing  the 
flag  of  the  rifles  somewhere  ahout  the  citadel. 

Thus  left  as  part  of  the  garrison  of  the  citadel,  I  personally,  from 
my  own  observation,  know  nothing  of  the  raising  of  the  American 
flag  over  the  palace.  • 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  September  I  was  detached,  from  my 
regiment,  to  take  charge  of  the  palace,  and  a  large  American  flag  was 
then  floating  over  it. 

It  was  old,  nearly  worn  out,  fast  going  to  pieces  ;  had  graced  most 
of  our  Mexican  triumphs,  and  I  supposed  it  to  he,  at  the  time,  the 
first  American  flag  which  had  been  raised  there.  Anxious  to  pre- 
serve it,  on  the  30th  of  September  I  reported  its  condition  to  General 
Quitman  and  asked  for  an  order  for  a  new  one.  The  order  was  given, 
A  new  one  of  the  largest  size,  40  feet  fly  and  20  feet  hoist,  was  made, 
and,  on  the  15th  of  October,  it  was  raised  and  continued  from  that  time 
to  float  over  the  palace  till  the  day  of  our  evacuation  of  the  city,  the 
12th  of  June,  1848. 

The  old  flag,  by  order  of  General  Quitman,  I  sent  to  General  Worth ; 
and  I  was  then  informed  by  the  latter,  that  the  old  flag,  thus  delivered 
by  me,  to  him,  had  been  sent,  by  him,  to  General  Quitman  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  14th  September,  he  understanding  that  General  Quitman, 
though  taking  the  palace,  had  no  suitable  flag  to  raise  over  it. 

Upon  my  reporting  to  General  Quitman  that  I  had  executed  his 
orders,  he  gave  me,  for  the  first  time,  an  account  of  the  first  fiag- 
raising,  and  of  some  difiiculty  he  had  in  procuring  an  American  flag 
for  the  purpose.  He  stated  that  an  attempt  was  made,  among  others, 
to  raise  the  flag  of  the  rifles,  and  that  he  prevented  it,  on  the  ground 
that  no  other  but  an  Amei^ican  flag — the  flag  of  the  Union — should 
be  raised  over  the  national  palace  of  the  conquered  capital  to  repre- 
sent an  American  triumph.  In  this  he  finally  succeeded, — and  my  im- 
pression was,  at  the  time,  that  the  first  American  flag  ever  run  up  the 
flag-staff  of  the  palace  was  the  large  one,  I  have  spoken  of,  as  returned 
.  by  me  to  General  Worth. 

It  is  certain,  I  believe,  that  when  General  Quitman  took  the  palace 
he  encountered  some  delay,  or  had  some  slight  difiiculty,  to  find  a 
flag  for  it.  This  fact,  itself,  is  illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  war 
and  of  the  success  of  our  arms.  In  plain  truth,  the  nature  of  our 
business  and  the  exigencies,  every  moment  pressing  upon  us,  were  such, 
that  flags  could  not  be  carried  nor  displayed.  For  the  pomp  and 
parade  of  war,  if  such  things  ever  are,  there  was  surely  no  room  there. 
The  men  who  won  Mexico  carried  the  flags  of  their  country  in  their 
hearts,  and  they  planted  them,  invisible,  upon  every  rampart  they 
mounted,  and  on  every  field  where  they  left  their  blood  or  their  lives. 

It  is  also  certain,  with  respect  to  the  first  flag  on  the  palace — 
whether  the  flag  of  the  rifles,  the  small  American  flag  referred  to  by 
Captain  Koberts,  or  the  large  garrison  flag  of  General  Worth's — 
whichever  it  was,  it  was  raised  by  order  of  General  Quitman,  who, 


APT*] 


CAPfxiN    NAYLOr'S    STATExMENT.  29 

with  a  little  column  of  exhausted  men  who  had  heen  on  continued 
duty  by  day  and  night  since  the  11th — stormed  the  capital  at  its 
strongest  defences,  first  marched  into  its  heart,  and  took  th.e  palace, 
representative  of  its  empire. 

By  his  order  (when  the  battle  was  won  and  any  hand  could  do  the 
deed)  the  American  flag  Avas  floated  over  the  palace  ;  and  if  this  act 
can,  by  any  possibility,  reflect  any  distinctive  glory  upon  any  one,  or 
any  branch  of  the  army  in  particular  more  than  another,  it  should 
be  shared  by  all  whom  he  had  the  honor  to  lead,  and  above  all  and 
especially^  by  him  whom  they  liad  the  honor  to  follow.  But,  in  sober 
truth,  and  common  justice,  and  sound  soldierly  feeling,  it  should  be 
vshared  by  the  whole  army  alike,  for  it  was  the  consummation  of  the 
efforts  and  sufferings  of  the  whole  army,  alike  united,  under  the 
greatest  of  captains,  to  that  end.  If  it  fell,  as  it  did,  to  the  gallant 
Quitman  and  his  command  to  be  the  first  to  reach  the  national  palace, 
it  was  as  much  the  result  of  tlieir  opportunity  as  of  their  merit. 

General  Quitman  is  able,  I  presume,  to  designate  the  flag  first 
raised,  and  thus  settle  the  question  beyond  dispute  and  forever. 

The  new  flag,  made  by  his  order,  was  taken  down  by  me,  for  the 
last  time,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1848,  the  day  of  the  evacuation  of  the 
city  of  Mexico,  and  was  forwarded  to  Adjutant  General  Jones,  United 
States  army,  and  was,  for  some  years  thereafter,  exhibited  in  the 
exhibition  room  of  the  ISTational  Institute  at  Washington.  A  section 
of  the  flag  staff  of  the  palace  was  also  sent  him  by  me,  and  is  now  to 
be  seen  in  the  room  of  the  National  Institute.  Eeports  were  sent  with 
both  the  flag  and  the  flag  stafl",  and  are,  I  presume,  now  on  file  in  the 
Adjutant  General's  office. 

I  have  entered  somewhat  into  detail  in  this  communication,  rendered 
necessary  to  be  intelligible,  and  because  the  letter  of  Captain  Roberts 
covered  almost  the  whole  of  our  movements  of  the  13th  and  14th  of 
September,  1847,  and  laid  claim  for  an  especial  and  more  comprehen- 
sive distinction,  for  a  particular  flag,  than  the  facts  of  the  case,  so  far 
as  I  saw,  by  any  means  warranted. 

With  great  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  NAYLOR. 

Hon.  John  B.  Weller, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  of  the  Senate. 


CAPTAIN  NAYLOR'S  SUPPLEMExNT. 

To  the  Honorable  John  B.    Weller, 

Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the  Senate: 

Since  submitting  my  letter  of  the  26th  ultimo  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
add,  by  way  of  supplement,  the  following  correspondence  relating  to 
the  subject  of  your  inquiry.  . 

It  seems  to  me  due  to  the  memory  of  our  country's  gallant  dead, 
and  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  elucidation  of  the  truth  of  our  flag- 
raising  history,  &c.:  at  all  events  it  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the 
subject,  recorded  as  it  were  by  daguerreotype,  as  it  occurred  from  day 
to  day.    The  correspondence,  it  will  be  perceived,  relates  to  two  palace 


30  CAPTAIN    NAYLOR-S   STATEMENT. 

flags,  Avhicli  were  termed  the  old  and  the  new,  and  so  hlends  the 
history  of  them  together  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  give  the  whole 
correspondence,  which  I  do,  chronologically,  in  the  order  of  its  oc- 
currence. 

On  the  day  of  its  date  I  sent  the  following  letter  to  General  Quit- 
man: 

'^National  Palace, 
^^  3Iexico,  September  30,  1S4:7. 
''  Sir:  Our  flag,  I  regret  to  state,  is  nearly  worn  out;  I  am  ohliged 
to  have  its  rents  sewed  up  every  night;  it  is  daily  diminishing  in 
length  and  thus  losing  its  proportions.  I  would  respectfully  recom- 
mend that  a  new  one  be  made,  of  the  same  size,  preserving  its  original 
proportions.  If  it  meet  your  approbation  I  will  have  one  manufac- 
tured at  once, — if  the  material  can  be  procured  here. 

^'With  the  greatest  respect,  I  am,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

^^CHAELES  NAYLOR, 
^^Superintendent  of  National  Palace. 
'^  Major  G-eneral  Quitman, 

''  Civil  and  Military  Governor.'' 

The  foregoing  letter  (endorsed  ^'Approved — J.  A.  Quitman,  Major 
General  and  Governor,  October  2,  1847,'')  was  returned  to  me  enclosed 
in  the  following: 

'^  Office  of  the  Civil  and  Military  Governor, 

'^  National  Palace,  October  2,  1847. 
•'Captain:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  your  requisition  upon 
the  governor  as  to  a  new  national  flag  for  the  use  of  the  palace,  ap- 
proved by  him.     You  are,  therefore,  at  liberty  to  procure  one  at  your 
earliest  convenience. 

'^  With  great  respect  and  esteem,  your  obedient  servant, 

''GEO.  T.  M.  DAVIS,  Secretary. 
"  Captain  Charles  Naylor, 

'^Superintendent,  &c.,  National  Pcdace." 

On  the  day  of  its  date  the  following  letter  was  handed  General 
Quitman : 

"  National  Palace,  Mexico,  October  15,  1847. 
^  "  General  :  The  new  national  flag  is  finished.  It  is  of  the  largest 
size,  40  by  20  English  feet,  and  its  proportions  are  in  exact  con- 
formity with  the  regulations  of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject. 
It  was  made  by  Mrs.  Louisa  Baker,  an  American  lady  from  the  United 
States,  now  resident  in  Mexico  ;  and  she  has  made  it  in  the  most 
substantial  and  beautiful  manner.  I  propose  raising  it  at  once. 
"  With  great  respect,  I  am,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

''CHARLES  NAYLOB, 
^'  Captain  United  States  Army, 

"  Superintendent  of  National  Palace. 
"  Major  General  Quitman, 

"  Civil  and  Military  Governor." 


CAPTAIN    NAYLOr's   STATEMENT^  31 

The  Mrs.  Louisa  Baker,  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  letter,  was 
from  Germantown,  in  Philadelphia  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  had 
lived  some  years  in  Mexico.  Her  husband,  13enjamin  Baker,  also  an 
American,  had  been  banished  from  Mexico  by  Santa  Anna,  because 
of  his  Americanism,  whilst  our  army  was  at  Puebla,  suffered  much 
in  our  cause,  and  managed,  after  his  banishment,  to  reach  our  head- 
quarters, and  became  efficient  as  a  guide  and  an  interpreter.  Mrs. 
Baker  assembled  at  her  house  all  the  American  ladies  of  her  acquaint- 
ance in  Mexico  to  assist  her  in  making  the  flag,  and  not  a  stitch 
would  she  permit  to  enter  it  but  what  was  put  there  by  the  fair  fingers 
of  an  American  woman.  For  want  of  a  more  competent  person, 
Captains  G.  T.  M.  Davis  and  Lovell,  of  Quitman's  staff,  and  myself, 
cut  out  the  stars,  and  pinned  them  in  their  appropriate  places  in  the 
blue  field.     All  else  beside  was  done  by  our  fair  countrywomen. 

On  the  15th  of  October,  1847,  the  new  flag  was  raised,  and  in  the 
'^ Daily  Ameeican  Star''  of  the  next  day,  '^Saturday,  October  16, 
1847,''  both  the  new  flag  and  the  old  one  was  noticed,  editorially, — 
which  notice  I  have  copied  from  a  paper  of  that  date,  a  part  of  a  file 
now  in  my  possession.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  speaks  of  both  flags, 
the  new  and  the  old,  and  may  fairly  be  supposed  T:o  give  the  feelings 
and  opinions  of  the  soldiers  with  regard  to  the  lattei* 

This  paper  was  published  by  "Peoples  &  Barnard."  John  H. 
Peoples  was  a  soldier  and  a  printer.  Serving  as  a  soldier  till  Vera 
Cruz  fell,  he  there  established  his  printing  press.  Thence,  first  fight- 
ing and  then  printing,  he  moved  with  the  army,  setting  up  his  press 
and  issuing  his  "American  Star,"  at  Jalapa,  Puebla,  and  Mexico. 
As  a  soldier  and  a  printer,  with  his  musket  and  his  press,  he  was  cer- 
tainly no  bad  type  of  American  character  and  progress.  He  thus 
notices  our  flags,  and  I  give  his  testimony: 

[From  the  "  Dailj'-  American  Star,"  Mexico,  October  16, 1847.] 

"NEW  FLAG  ON    THE  PALACE. 

"  Flag  of  the  free  heart's  only  home, 
By  angel  hands  to  valour  given, 
Thy  stars  have  lit  the  welkin  dome, 
And  all  thy  hues  were  born  in  Heaven. 

^^A  new  American  flag,  of  the  very  largest  size,  was  yesterday 
raised  upon  the  national  palace,  by  Captain  Naylor,  and  it  now,  in 
spirit-stirring  magnificence^  streams  out  its  folds  to  the  free  winds. 
There  are  many  things  beautiful  in  this  land,  afar  off  from  our  heart's 
home,  but,  to  us^  there  is  nothing  so  afiectingly  beautiful  as  this,  our 
starry  banner.  We  are  informed  that  it  was  made  by  a  lady  from 
Philadelphia,  now  resident  in  this  city.  The  old  flag,  to  which  it 
succeeds,  was  nearly  worn  out ;  it  was  fast  frittering  awa3^  It  is  the 
first  American  flag  that  waved  over  Vera  Cruz,  Cerro  Gordo,  Jalapa, 
Puebla,  and  Mexico,  and  represents  every  victory  of  the  American 
army  achieved  by  General  Scott's  division.  It  is,  therefore,  sacred, 
and  we  trust,  as  such  may  be  preserved." 

John  H.  Peoples,  the  soldier-editor  of  the  ^^Star,"  who,  I  presume, 
wrote  this  notice,  is  dead.     He  was  drowned  in  the  Pacific  ocean,  near 


32  CORRESPONDENCE    ON    FLAG. 

San  Francisco,  engaged  in  the  extension  of  the  dominion  of  that 
'' starry  banner,"  which  he  decLared  in  the  foregoing  article,  was  to 
him,  so  ''afFectingly  beautiful."  The  brave  fellow  had  a  manhood 
and  a  history,  and  I  could  not  forbear  the  cold  justice  of  giving  to  yow 
his  testimony,  and  to  him  this  notice. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  1847,  I  was  ordered,  by  General  Quitman, 
to  send  the  old  flag,  thus  above  noticed,  to  General  Worth,  which 
was  done,  with  the  following  letter : 


National  Palace,  Mexico,  October  18,  1847. 
General:  Herewith,  by  order  of  Major  General  Quitman,  I  send 
you  the  old  flag  which  has  been,  till  within  the  last  few  days,  float- 
ing over  the  national  palace.  I  believe  that  the  presence  of  this  old 
flag  has  graced  nearly  every  triumph  wliich  American  valor  has 
achieved  in  Mexico.  Representing,  as  it  does,  the  glory  of  our  arms, 
it  is  fitted  that  its  keeping  should  thus  be  committed  to  one  whose 
conduct  and  gallantry  have  contributed  so  largely  to  swell  the  volume 
of  that  glory. 

With  the  highest  respect,  I  am,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

OHABLES  NAYLOR, 
Captain  2d  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and 

Superintendent  of  National  Palace. 
Major  General  Worth, 

United  States  Army. 

To  this  note  I  received  the  following  reply  : 

Headquarters  First  Division, 

Mexico,  October  18,  1847. 
My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  received  the  flag  which,  on  the  14th  ultimo, 
I  sent  to  my  gallant  friend  General  Quitman,  ignorant  that  he  was 
supplied  w^ith  a  standard  to  raise  over  the  palace  ;  that  flag  is  now 
replaced  by  one  more  broadly  and  lordly  reflecting  the  achievements 
of  our  arms  and  the  glory  of  our  country.  I  beg  of  you  to  accept 
my  cordial  acknowledgments  for  the  very  obliging  4Tianner  and  kind 
terms  in  which  it  has  been  returned,  invested  as  it  is  with  interesting 
associations  to  my  soldiers,  officers,  and  men. 
With  high  respect,  very  truly, 

W.  J.  WORTH, 
Brevet  Major  General  United  States  Army. 
Captain  Charles  Naylor, 

Superintendent  of  National  Palace. 

It  was  not  till  the  receipt  of  this  letter  that  I  was  aware  that  the 
flag  sent  by  me  to  General  Worth  was  his  flag.  I  had  supposed  it  to 
have  been  sent  him  by  General  Quitman  as  a  compliment  from  one 
brave  soldier  to  another ;  hence  my  letter,  ■  addressed  to  General 
Worth,  gave  the  matter  that  turn.  Upon  meeting  him  soon  after- 
wards, he  explained  the  subject,  as  I  have  before  stated  in  the  body 
of  my  letter  to  your  committee,  viz:  that  he  sent  it  to  Quitman,  be- 
cause he  understood,  having  taken  the  palace,  he  was  in  want  of  a 


CORRESPONDENCE   ON   FLAG.  33 

proper  flag  for  it.  It  is  very  evident,  therefore,  that,  after  General 
Quitman  had  taken  the  palace,  he  found  some  difficulty  to  procure 
colors  suitable  for  it,  having  none  of  his  own  in  all  respects  answering 
the  purpose.  What  may  he  the  merit  of  the  man  who  procured  these 
colors,  or  raised  them  when  procured,  it  is  not  for  me  to  determine. 
On  the  day  of  its  date,  I  sent  the  following  to  G-eneral  Quitman : 

^^  National  Palace,  Mexico, 

"Ocioher2^,  1847. 
'^General:  I  respectfully  report  to  you  now,  what  ought  to  have 
been  reported  before,  that,  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  instant,  agree- 
able to  an  order  communicated  by  your  aid-de-camp.  Lieutenant 
Lovell,  I  sent  to  General  ^  W.  J.  Worth  the  old  national  flag,  and 
have  received  from  him  a  note  acknowledging  the  receiptt  of  it. 

^^  With  the  highest  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient 
servant, 

^^CHAKLES  NAYLOK,. 
^^Superintendent  of  National  Falace.. 
'^  To  Major  General  Quitman, 

^  ^  Civil  and  Military  Governor. ' ' 

Pursuing,  by  documents,  this  flag  history  still  further,  with  a  view 
to  connect  the  memories  of  the  dead  with  it,  and  to  sustain  the  state- 
ments of  my  letter,  let  me  repeat  that  the  flag  was  finally  taken  down 
from  the  palace  at  sunrise  on  the  12th  of  June,  1848,  in  the  presence 
of  the  whole  people  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  men,  women,  and  children, 
congregated  in  the  great  square,  covering  the  roofs  of  the  cathedral 
and  of  the  neighboring  houses.  The  final  direction  for  this  purpose 
was  given  by  Major  General  Worth,  who,  in  an  order  addressed  to 
me  personally,  described  particularly  the  manner  in  which  the  flag 
was  to  be  lowered — on  the  firing  of  the  thirtieth  gun,  (the  close  of 
the  salute,)  and  amidst  the  music  of  the  ^'Star-spangled  Banner" 
from  the  whole  band  of  his  division.  His  personal  order  to  me,  I  am 
unable,  in  the  present  confusion  of  my  papers,  to  lay  my  hands  upon ; 
but  give  the  following  final  order  from  him  on  the  subject,  addressed 
to  Golonel  Clarke,  then  commanding  the  brigade  of  the  palace — now 
General  Clarke — and  who  communicated  the  order  to  me  for  my 
observance,  and  furnished  me  the  detail  of  men  therein  mentioned: 

' '  Headquartees,  First  Division, 

''  Mexico,  June  11,  1848. 

''  Colonel:  General  Worth  desires  that  you  will  designate  suitable 
men,  acting  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Najdor,  gradually  to  lower 
the  flag,  on  the  discharge  of  the  thirtieth  gun_,  to-morrow  morning, 
when  Captain  Naylor  will  dispose  of  it  in  accordance  with  the  orders 
already  received  from  general  headquarters.  The  latter  must  be  done 
with  dispatch,  as  the  column  will  move  in  a  few  minutes  thereafter. 

''I  am,  colonel,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

''WM.  F.  BARKY,  J.  Z>.  G 

'•  Colonel  Clarke, 

^'  Commanding  2d  Brigade.'' 


34  CORRESPONDENCE  ON  FLAG. 

I  have  thus  followed  our  American  flag  history,  in  the  city  of 
Mexico,  from  its  first  planting  there  till  our  evacuation  of  the  place. 
Truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  NAYLOE. 
Washington,  D.  C,  March  3,  1856. 


UUhomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros. 

Makeis 

Stockton,  CaliT. 

PAT.  IAN  21.  1908 


